


The Eyes

by universeEnthusiast



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, and this is explicit because there is Smut later, so pls dont read if youre uderage or sensitive to sex stuff i want u to be safe, um so there is one (1) injury in this jsyk but its ok its not graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-05-09 05:29:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 148,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14710019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universeEnthusiast/pseuds/universeEnthusiast
Summary: Fate is... unpredictable, and no-one understands this better than Plagg the Black Cat Kwami. Sometimes wishes it wouldn't be so things could go smoothly for once.He's always disappointed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi yes unlike my other fic Unexpecting, this fic is in no way completed as i'm posting it, so please yell at me to finish it in comments if you want me to finish it

Adrien rubbed his eyes in the harsh sunlight as he stepped out of the building he'd been stuck in for six hours.

"You okay, dude?" Nino sipped at his coffee.

"Yeah, it's the flashes." Adrien frowned a little as he walked down the stairs towards his friend. "From the cameras? My… fuck, what are they called again? My, uh… retinal sphincters are slow today."

"Your what?" Nino raised an eyebrow.

"Y'know, the green bits?" Adrien sighed, still rubbing his left eye. "Cut me some slack, I'm tired."

Nino handed him the coffee and Adrien gratefully took a gulp.

"You gonna be alright for the move?" Nino asked as they headed down some stairs.

"I hope so." Adrien blinked painfully.

They made their way past several blocks and down to the banks of the Seine, where their destination lay floating in the water.

The Couffaine houseboat, which was currently being alighted of some of its cargo.

Four or five figures milled about the boat carrying boxes across the ramp to be passed up onto the road to a very old looking kombi van.

Despite the fact that it felt like his eyeballs had been cooked inside his skull, Adrien recognized the faces of his old classmates, Juleka and Rose, as they approached.

Nino called out a greeting once they made it across the plank, and Adrien spotted Marinette's torso suddenly popping up from among a tall pile of junk.

"Hey, Marinette!" he waved. Her blue eyes lit up and a smile grew on her face. She waved back, which caused her to lose her grip on the box she'd been holding.

It was caught by Luka, who smiled and told her something Adrien couldn't hear from this distance.

"Hi, Adrien!" Rose squeaked beside them and drew their attention. "How was your shoot?"

"Oh, uh, fine," he smiled, lying only a little. "How much stuff have you guys moved?"

"Most of it," Juleka replied, coming across the plank to stand by them. "You guys are kinda late."

"Sorry," Adrien slumped a little. "The photographer was really fussy this morning."

"It's cool," Luka shrugged as he approached. "Glad you could make it, anyway."

"Hey!" Marinette grinned at them as she carried a small pile of boxes past and over towards the van.

"So, what's your new place like?" Adrien asked the man in blue.

"Come see for yourself," Luka offered. "I'm taking Marinette over now if you wanna tag along."

"She gonna help you unpack?" Nino tugged the coffee back from Adrien.

"Yeah," Luka looked over at Marinette as she hopped out of the side of the van and closed the door. "She's so sweet."

Nino looked to Adrien as he took a slurp of the caffeinated beverage, but Adrien seemed not to know why. Nino's eyebrows did a shrug and he handed Adrien the coffee again so his hands were free to check his phone.

"Would that be all yer takin, m' boy?" Juleka's mom asked, walking over with Marinette from the van.

"Yeah, I think that's everything." Luka hugged her, and Adrien's heart hurt a little. "Keys?"

"Farewell son," Anarka smiled.

"I'll be around, mom." Luka huffed, taking the key he was handed. "Not like I'm moving out of the country or anything."

"Oh, I know, lad." she touched his face with her many-ringed hands. "But yer me baby boy and yeh always will be."

Adrien looked away when the grey-haired woman kissed her son's forehead, unintentionally upset by it. Nino patted his back gently.

"C'mon." Luka stepped off the boat and Marinette snapped her attention to him from somewhere on the floor.

Adrien and Nino waved to the ladies on the boat and followed.

They piled into the van, Luka turned on the engine, and off they went.

===

After a fifteen, perhaps twenty minute drive, they arrived at what looked like a very old building. On the fourth floor, the top floor, was the tiny, two bedroom apartment. The interior was modern though, and it had some plain looking furniture inside it already.

"Duuuuuude…" Nino whistled. "How did you afford this?"

"The last guy that lived here died in it, so it was cheap." Luka shrugged.

All his guests froze, stunned. Nino made a disturbed face and slowly took his hand off the couch, which he had been feeling the fabric of.

"Furniture's new, dude." Luka chuckled, gently dropping his guitar case and bag by one of the doors.

Marinette made a tiny relieved 'phew' noise and put down the boxes she'd carried up the stairs. Adrien did the same.

"Marinette, you wanna start unpacking?" Luka said. "Can you guys help me with the other boxes?"

"Yeah, sure!" Nino nodded.

"Alright," Adrien smiled.

They headed back down to the van and began piling small cardboard boxes into their arms.

"Whoa," Nino pointed to a large instrument case and a mound of cables and speakers. "Did you bring Adrien's keyboard?"

"Yeah," Luka said. "Figured it might be safer if it wasn’t near water 24/7."

Adrien nodded.

"You can just come over and play it whenever you want," Luka held the building door open with his foot.

"Thanks so much," Adrien beamed as they headed back up to the apartment.

Once they made it up the stairs, they found Marinette inside the first bedroom, sorting and folding clothes. Knickknacks and posters and such had been placed in approximate locations about the rest of the room.

"You don't own a lot of stuff," Nino mused, counting less than ten boxes of belongings.

"No-one really does?" Marinette answered, wrangling a pair of cutup jeans. "It's a millennial thing, you know?"

"Adrien's got a shitton of stuff in his room." Nino countered.

"Actually most of it isn't really mine?" Adrien opened a box with a butterknife. "Like, if I was to move out, I would barely take a fraction of that stuff with me."

Luka was in the bedroom, putting stuff up on the walls, quietly listening.

"I'd bring, like… some of my books and movies, I guess?" Adrien started unpacking various mugs and cups, most of them band memorabilia. "And the files from my computer. But other than my clothes?"

He took the decorative drinkware into the kitchen.

"Not much I couldn't live without." he sighed, thinking about the skateboard ramp he never used. Seriously, he didn’t even own a skateboard, or know how to ride one, why was he given a whole-ass professional-sport-sized ramp?

"You wouldn't wanna bring all those trophies?" Nino asked, discovering a pile of dusty-looking game cases and some case-less CDs and DVDs. "Or like, all your Ladyb-"

"SURE!" Adrien said very loudly, turning on his friend with a defensive fury in his eyes. "But I don't care about the trophies."

Nino snickered, but conceded anyway.

"What about your arcade machines?" Nino cleared his throat, arranging the tiny library in some order in the tiny cabinet under the little TV in the living room.

"Would they fit anywhere but in the mansion, though?" Adrien asked, discarding the now empty cardboard box into the lounge.

"True." Nino nodded, and with an announcement of 'yeet', tossed his own box toward its peer on the floor.

"Nino, can you help me get the music equipment?" Luka asked.

"Yeah, man," Nino stood up.

"We'll be back," Luka said.

And then they were gone.

Adrien felt a little awkward - scratch that, a lot awkward - sitting silently in someone's house while they weren't home.

"Hey, Marinette," he called after a moment.

"Y-yeah?" she replied, sounding odd.

"How have you been, anyway?" he asked, heading to lean in the doorway. "I haven't seen you since school went out for summer."

"Oh, yeah, y'know," she said, frowning at something in her hands. "Busy, busy, busy."

"You okay?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I have this…" Marinette mumbled, tossing whatever she'd been holding into a pile. "Side job I do, and it takes up a lot of my time, and I guess I feel a little drained by it."

"I know what you mean," Adrien nodded. "Modelling is worse in summer and my dad's been really bad lately."

"Oh, are you okay?" Marinette seemed to immediately snap to focus, looking worried.

It was then that Adrien noticed the bags under her eyes and the way that she was paler than usual. One of her buns looked messier than the other, and her cardigan was slipping slightly off her shoulder.

Now, Marinette was often clumsy and sometimes had trouble speaking, but she always looked so lovely and neat. She was an aspiring fashion designer and she made the effort to look like it. But right now she looked tired and a little dishevelled.

"Adrien?" she asked, and he realised he'd been staring.

"Oh, yeah, no," he shook his head. "I'll be fine. I'm kinda worried about you."

"Me?" she raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You look a little," Adrien pursed his lips. "Less together than usual?"

"Oh," Marinette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I… I'm always up late with the job, I don't get much sleep anymore."

"You can't quit?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. "I have to do it and if I don't it'll be a disaster. Not to mention, my partner…"

"Partner?" Adrien cocked his head.

"Ch-" Marinette stopped mid-word, looking a little horrified at herself. Eventually, she started to speak again. "He's, uh, more than a co-worker, less than a boyfriend? He can't do it on his own and we're really close. I don't have a choice."

"I see." he sighed, knowing the feeling to some degree. "That sucks."

"Yeah." she sighed as well.

As he ran it back through his head, Adrien was kind of stunned at the way that conversation had gone. Marinette was really a mess if her flow of thought was that all over the place.

"Adrien, move out of the door, dude," Nino grunted behind him.

Adrien spun into the room as Nino and Luka carried in the large box that held his keyboard.

"All that's left is the cables and speakers," Luka said.

"I'll get them," Adrien offered.

"I'll come with you," Nino said, and together they went to retrieve the equipment.

Gathering up the remainder of the contents of the van and closing it up, they went up the stairs for what felt more like the tenth time than the third.

When they re-entered, Luka and Marinette were chatting in the bedroom doorway, standing quite close to one another.

"Are you sure?" Marinette spoke softly. "You don't have to."

"I want to," Luka shrugged, a calm look on his face, his eyes on Marinette.

Adrien felt something odd when he looked at those eyes. He wasn't sure what it was.

"My parents leave on Tuesday," Marinette fiddled with the strand of hair that usually fell in front of her ear. "So maybe I could come in later that day?"

"Cool." Luka smiled. "Can't wait."

Marinette smiled and blushed a little.

"Where are your parents going?" Nino asked, and Adrien snapped to attention.

"On a cruise," Marinette replied. "It's their twenty-fifth anniversary and they wanted to really celebrate for the summer."

"How long are they out for?" Nino nudged the cables into a messy pile by the couch and got a thumbs up from Luka.

"Uh," Marinette frowned. After a moment, she replied with uncertainty. "Two? Three weeks?"

"Sick, gonna throw a party at the bakery?" Nino asked.

"Nooooo," Marinette borderline slurred. "Luka's invited me to stay here. Y'know, instead of being all alone at home."

"All alone at home?" Adrien knew the feeling well, and it did, in fact, suck.

"I mean, I get a visitor on the same night every week," Marinette smiled and put fingers to her face in shyness, and then her smile fell. "But he's never able to stay for long, so…"

Adrien wondered if she meant Chat Noir. If she didn’t, who else could she mean? Was there someone else visiting his princess? Adrien got a little agitated at that thought, but he wasn't sure why. Probably just protectiveness, he decided. He hoped whoever it was that visited wasn't out to hurt her.

"I think that might have been the quickest house-move that ever happened." Nino said.

"Thanks for helpin' out." Luka smiled. "Want me to drive you home?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Adrien grinned.

And off they went.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this one is shorter than the last sorry bout that
> 
> also at the request of my 2 favourite people i put spaces between each line which looks weird to me honestly but if its what makes it more accessible then thats what im doing from here on out.

Adrien wanted to claw his own face off. He settled for dragging his hands down it in frustration and quiet fury.

Gabriel wasn't even looking at him. He was talking in his usual monotone, saying things about schedules and responsibilities and public image, but Adrien had heard every word of it before.

Nathalie waved a tablet across his field of vision. Adrien ignored her. Gabriel kept talking.

Adrien began to think about other things. Food, maybe. Boy, wouldn't it be nice to see if the bakery was still open, grab one of the Dupain-Cheng's pastries before they left for their cruise? They made such good food.

Poor Marinette was going to be all alone for two weeks, though. Maybe he should up his Chat visits - wait. That’s right, she was staying a Luka's apartment.

Well, at least she wouldn't be alone.

Hmm. Luka… Adrien let his thoughts dwell on Luka. He'd met him after Luka's mother was akumatised, when Gabriel finally let him outside and the first thing he did when he arrived was trip over a cable.

Luka had been very nice to him and had even complimented his keyboard skills after Rose yelled lyrics for an hour. It had been a fun night. Since then, he'd been to as many band practices as he could, but they'd broken up graduating year since Ivan and Mylene married and moved away.

Luka had been pretty cool in general, super patient and kind. He was really good to Marinette, too, when he used to watch them sometimes at band practice. Somehow, when she was with him, Marinette managed to be less nervous, and smiled more. Adrien admired the effect Luka had on her in that regard, at least.

But, for some reason, Adrien didn't like the idea of Marinette staying with Luka. He frowned. Gabriel droned on. Nathalie seemed also to have tuned out, doing something with the tablet.

He chewed the inside of his cheek. Why was he feeling apprehensive? There should be nothing wrong with Marinette sleeping in Luka's apartment.

It wasn't like she would be unsafe there, right? Luka certainly wasn't going to hurt her. In fact, it was probably quite the opposite. He'd probably take excellent care of her, playing music for her, watching movies with her on the couch, giving her hugs when she needed them, kissing her goodnight when they went to bed - whoa.

Adrien scowled. Somehow, that kiss, however imaginary, made him baulk.

Why? It wasn't like he could stop them from doing that. Kissing. It wasn't like he wanted to stop them, either, that was just silly, they could kiss each other if they wanted.

So, then… why did he feel so uncomfortable at the thought of Luka's hands around Marinette's waist, and his lips on hers, and - okay, stopping that train of thought at this station, thanks.

Adrien shook his head, staring with a disturbed expression at the floor.

"Are we clear?" Gabriel asked, snapping Adrien's attention to him.

"Yeah," Adrien replied, absolutely clueless as to anything that had just been said, but knowing that is father would just keep having things done regardless of his level of understanding.

"Good," Gabriel said, and turned on his heel and left.

Adrien flipped him off as soon as the door was closed.

"Hey, kid," Plagg beckoned. "Are you sick or something?"

"No," Adrien gave the black spirit a look.

"You look like you feel awful." Plagg juggled some camembert slices.

"Nah, I'm fine," Adrien shook his whole body out.

"You sure?" Plagg squinted at him. "We can cancel patrol, y'know."

"Not a chance, you lazy little shit," Adrien grinned and threw a couch pillow at him.

"Worth a shot," the black cat shrugged.

Adrien huffed a half-laugh and went back to his computer.

===

The air was excellent that night, cool and crisp. Chat did a triple somersault off a building, grinning like an idiot, and barrel rolled across the Meeting Roof, landing flat on his back.

"Evening, Chaton," Ladybug waved from the corner of the rooftop. "How are we?"

"Excellent, Milady," he panted a little as he rose. "Parkour is fun."

"That it is." she smiled. "Ready for patrol tonight?"

"Always." he winked.

It may have been summer, but the nights were cool, and the city still felt warm as they made their way across the sea of golden lights. They followed their regular route, passing famous landmarks and simple residential areas alike.

Paris was often described as a magical city, and as cliché as he knew that was, if Adrien was being honest, he had to agree, and not just because of the ring on his finger.

The night was quiet, as per usual. Whoever Papillon was, at least he was polite enough to keep his villainous activities to mostly the daylight hours.

"Maybe he's old?" Chat thought aloud.

"Who?" Ladybug asked, not focusing on him. She was instead scanning the Louvre for potential threats.

"Papillon." he replied. "He's not as active at night."

"Thankfully," she added.

"But if he were a teenager," Chat mused, spinning his baton around a finger. "He'd be making trouble at all hours."  
Ladybug turned to him, clearly catching on this idea.

"He was an adult when we started." she reminded. "The question is, young man or old man?"

Chat frowned.

"What else do we know about him?" he poked the baton to his cheek, brows furrowed.

"All we know is his motive and his victims." Ladybug shook her head, arms crossed.

"Maybe that's all we need to know." Chat murmured. "Maybe there's a pattern of some kind."

"Every kid in my college class was akumatised, except for me and the boy I liked." Ladybug listed. "Others were their relatives, like Sabrina's dad and Alix's brother. Then there were a few with further degrees of separation, like Adrien's bodyguard and Nadja, who Marinette babysits for. Mr. Pigeon was a random, and so was Andre the ice-cream man, and Santa."

"Wasn't the baby random, too?" Chat snapped his fingers. "I was there that day, the akuma flew right past my head and towards the bodyguard, but it landed on the baby instead. Papillon had to improvise."

"Yeah, Gigantitan was a mess." Ladybug nodded, and then something seemed to dawn on her. She raised a finger, a realizing expression on her face. "Kids."

"Kids?" he questioned.

"Child akumas!" she waved her finger excitedly. "He's awful with kids!"

"Alright, what is that supposed to tell me?" Chat blinked.

"Think about it," Ladybug said with a toothy grin. "Puppeteer, the Sapotis, Gigantitan, they were the ones he had the most trouble controlling, because he doesn’t understand kids!"

"So you think old, maybe?" Chat nodded. They might seriously be onto something here.

"Wait, remember Befana?" Ladybug held up a finger in a pausing gesture, eyes searching the middle distance.

"Hard to forget," he told her, remembering the third birthday akumatization that'd happened that year. "Poor Marinette."

"Befana made Papillon say please," her eyes were sparkling. "So he's not as old as she is."

"Baby-Boomer-slash-Gen-Xer, huh," Chat huffed. "Well, he certainly demands and complains enough."

"That gives us suspects again." Ladybug bit her lip excitedly and bounced a little. "You're the best, chaton."

Chat Noir smiled a tiny smile, until she pounced on him for a hug. Then his smile got bigger.

"Okay," she said. "We should go home and sleep, but we need to think more on this, okay?"

She looked absolutely ecstatic. It made his heart leap to know it had been his idea that had gotten her so excited.

"Yeah, yes," Chat smiled wide at her. "Definitely."

"Goodnight, kitty," she winked, making his heart skip as he waved, and then she was gone.

Adrien wanted to think about suspects, but all he could really think about for the rest of the night was how Ladybug had winked at him, and how, for once, it hadn’t been in jest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the last one was setup for the civilian stuff and this one is establishing where the superhero stuff is at so this one might just even be like.... chapter 1.5 lmao
> 
> uhhhhh see you next week


	3. Chapter 3

On Sunday morning, Adrien found that, incredibly, he had no scheduled activities today. He wasted no time grabbing his phone.

After texting a few of his friends, he found that they were all busy. All except for Marinette.

Marinette was someone Adrien had known for years, and he hadn't seen her in ages apart from yesterday and his last visit as Chat Noir. He practically jumped at the chance to hang out with her.

He thought about her as he got dressed.

She was wonderful. Bright and creative and brave. And caring, so very caring. He loved any time he spent with her.

Of course, it was a little different depending on who he was at the time.

When Marinette hung out with "Adrien", she was lot shier. Quieter, tense, and seemed to be very nervous, even though he could never figure out why. But with Chat Noir, Marinette really shined. She was sassy and playful and unabashed. He wished she'd be like that when it was just them.

There were days when the line between those states of being was fuzzier. For a good chunk of collège Marinette had been very comfortable and even open with him. Then that sort of withered away after lycée started, and Adrien found her getting nervous again, and he kept wondering why. Whenever he asked Nino, he wouldn't respond. If he asked Alya, she changed the subject, and he didn't dare ask Marinette directly lest he scare her off.

But she held no such reservations with his superhero self. He loved how free she felt around him. Once a week, at about half-past 11 on Wednesday nights, he would drop in to see her after patrol. Sometimes she would talk, and he would listen. Sometimes he would ask for affection, and she would oblige.

And as he finally found the jacket he'd been looking for, he walked over to his bedside table and retrieved his lucky charm to tuck it into his breast pocket. Marinette had made it, like she'd made many other things over the course of their school years, including a very stylish hat that he would have loved if he weren't allergic to it, and a banner for a race between Kim and Alix.

With all that he knew of her creativity and inventiveness, and the intimate touches he knew she reserved only for Chat, Adrien was of the firm belief that Marinette's hands were probably magic.

Adrien walked out of his room and into the foyer of the mansion, through the front doors, and walked right up to the front gate. Using his regular method of banging twice on the metal panel covering the controls to the gate to distract security footage viewers from his actual means of escape - a security system remote he'd stolen from his father's office months ago - Adrien passed through the "malfunctioning" front gates into the streets beyond.

He had his escape planned to the letter, just like always.

From the mansion, it was a decent walk to the bakery. He passed through the park and took an extended glance at the statue of he and Ladybug. Seeing them younger again always made him feel just a little odd. He wondered if he could commission Theo to replace it, get their new outfits modelled, maybe even change the pose.

Adrien continued all the way to the door of Marinette's building and knocked three times. Marinette opened the door, started a little at the sight of him, and let him in.

"Hey!" she smiled. "Come on up!"

Adrien followed her all the way up to her room.

It was very different from the last time he'd been there. It was still quite pink, but it was a lot less decorated now. The walls were all bare and her desk was much emptier than it once had been. The few things that were on it were bulky, one subtly familiar pink box and a pile of thick scrapbooks sitting beside her computer. Her sewing machine and accompanying needlework box lay idle, and on the floor under the same section of table were three or four boxes stuffed to the brim with assorted fabrics. There were no other books, the banner had been pulled from the beams, and the mannequin stood unused in the corner. The chaise was still there, but the umbrella that had always been propped against it was missing.

There was a suitcase on the chaise, and a small mound of clothes that awaited packing. Marinette approached them and began to fold again.

"So," she said brightly. "How goes the modelling?"

"Exhausting, as always," Adrien replied, seating himself in the desk chair.

"Is there any way you can get your dad to ease up?" Marinette asked.

"Nope," he answered. "Not unless I got sick or something."

"Oof," she offered in sympathy, deftly folding a pink top into the suitcase.

"And how's your side job doing?" Adrien inquired, rolling toward the boxes of fabric in curiosity.

"We actually made a breakthrough last night," Marinette's face lit up. "My partner found a lead on the goal we've been chasing for five years. I'm so excited!"

"That's so cool!" Adrien grinned, wishing he could share his similar achievement with her, but thinking better of it.

Superhero stuff must always stay top secret, even from the lovely, trustworthy Marinette.

"Isn't it?" she replied, a content but faraway look on her face. "My partner is wonderful sometimes."

Adrien looked around in the box of fabrics. Some were half sewn, some torn, some colourful, some plain. One of the blue fabrics caught his eye. He frowned and fished it out.

"Where have I seen this before?" he murmured.

"Oh, that's the fabric I used to make your sc-"

Adrien looked up in confusion, ready to ask Marinette why she'd cut off. She was quite red in the face.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

"Yeah! Fine." Marinette answered, wide eyed and speaking too loudly. "Could - could you pass me the box?"

"The pink one?" Adrien tossed the scrap of fabric back into the pile and reached for where he'd spotted it on the desk without taking his eyes off Marinette.

That was a mistake, because while he'd guessed its location correctly, instead of grabbing it by the case, he managed to stick his hand right into the hole in the front, activating the safety mechanism Marinette had rigged it with years ago. A wooden clamp caught on his wrist, and he yelped in surprise.

"Oh, no," Marinette hurried over and fished around on the desk for the key.

"Why is your box eating my hand?" Adrien asked dumbly, staring at it.

"I used to keep my diary in it," Marinette told him, rushing over to the vanity and checking the draws. "Until I stopped keeping diaries." 

"Seems a bit high security for a diary," he said.

"There were a lot of important secrets in that diary." she closed the last draw of the vanity and rushed the dresser. "I had to keep those secrets safe at all costs. So I made that box."

At Adrien's confused face, she went on.

"After the fourth time someone tried to steal it," Marinette laughed nervously, throwing various items of winter clothing from the dresser. "I realised I could just, y'know, _not_ write them down, and burned the old ones."

A trick box was one thing, but _burning_? Adrien almost wanted to ask what kind of secrets warranted _that_ level of caution, but he had his own secrets. Secrets he'd literally almost died for.

He understood. He wouldn't pry.

Adrien focussed on the situation at hand - or rather, clamped around it. He slowly flipped the box it so his wrist was in a more comfortable position. Something slid a little and clunked inside, prompting Marinette to get more distressed.

"Uh, what's in it now?" he asked.

"My treasures," she swallowed, frantically digging through the next drawer. "And one of them is very delicate…"

"I'm so sorry, Marinette," Adrien begged. He really hoped she wouldn't hate him for this.

"It's ok," Marinette smiled, but she was still visibly anxious. "You didn't know."

The last drawer offered no result.

"Shit," Marinette whispered. "I can't find the key."

She walked over to him, leant against the desk, and held the box in her hands, a contemplative look on her face.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"I can unscrew the hinges and break it open from the back." she sighed, reaching for her needlework box. "I just hope I can grab the rose before it shatters."

"Shatters?" Boy, did he find himself with a lot of questions today. How could a flower shatter?

"It's encased in resin." Marinette said as she positioned the tool, and he felt the box shift as she unscrewed.

Adrien felt around with his fingers inside the box. Maybe he could grab the rose before the box got opened and hold it so it didn’t fall.

"Hold on," the screwing paused. "I think I just remembered where the key is."

Marinette went over to the needlework box and pulled out a tray full of small tools. Underneath it was a second tray full of at least a dozen-squared needles, and if they were in any way different from one another, Adrien couldnt tell. Marinette lifted this tray above her head, balanced it on one hand, and inspected the base. There, on the left, a small key was stuck with clear tape to the bottom of the tray.

"Phew." Marinette pried it off and replaced the trays.

Flipping the box right side up again, Adrien held it out to her. She gripped it with slightly shaky fingers and used the key. A tiny click sounded, and the box opened from the top.

As the top half of the case moved, the loose screw in the hinge fell out and landed on Marinette's bare foot. In reaction, her arm jolted the box and a small thud was heard from inside it. Reflexively, both their free hands shot to steady it.

After sharing a nervous chuckle and a relieved sigh, Adrien carefully retracted his hand and Marinette swallowed and inspected the contents of the box. Her companion also snuck a peek.

There were three objects inside.

Adrien's lucky charm, the one he'd given her for her birthday. It made him smile to see she still had it. Beside it, a guitar pick with Jagged Stone's face on it.

"Do you play guitar?" he asked.

"No, no," Marinette giggled. "Luka gave it to me."

 _Oh_ , thought Adrien, but he was interrupted before he could figure out what exact emotion spurred him to think it.

"I can sing a little, but…" she shrugged. "No instruments. Oh…"

Marinette had begun to frown. Adrien followed her gaze.

The largest object in the box, a clear cube three inches tall and three inches wide, containing the head of a red rose. The corner had had a large chip knocked off it.

Marinette picked it up and very carefully turned it over and around in her fingers. There was, thankfully, no other damage.

"What's…" Adrien asked, curious. "What's that?"

"Well…" Marinette smiled softly. "My partner gave it to me a few years ago, when we were younger. That night is still very special to me and… I didn’t want it to die, so I preserved it."

"Does he know you still have it?"

Marinette looked a little surprised at this.

"No, he doesn't know," she put it back in the box and placed the whole thing on the desk, and then retrieved the screw from the floor and began to screw it in again. "I mean, I bet you didn't expect to see your charm in there."

"I'm really glad you kept it, though," Adrien smiled. "I still have yours."

"Really?" her eyes widened and she looked right at him.

Adrien reached into his breast pocket and tugged the charm out gently for her to see. She stared in wonder, stepping closer.

"I can't believe you still carry it." Marinette looked to his face.

He loved those blue eyes.

"Of course I do." he replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"It's not in the best shape," she observed.

She was right, as usual. The string was faded and fraying, the beads in various states of scratched and chipped. The central green bead alone was losing its carved decoration because of his fingers wearing it down.

"Well, it hasn't failed me yet," Adrien said, returning it to his pocket. "And I'm pretty sure it never will."

"Yours never failed me, either," Marinette reached for the matching charm.

"Why keep it in the box then?" he frowned. "Why not carry it?"

"I dropped it during an Akuma attack ages ago," she held the charm close. "I tripped and dropped it and it got broken. The Cure fixed it, but I've been too scared to take it out with me since. At least in there, it's safe."

"Marinette," Adrien shook his head gently and stood up from the chair. "How's it supposed to be your good luck charm if it's locked up in your room?"

"My luck is eternally bad." Marinette sighed. "I'll just it or break it or-"

"Then I'll make you another one." he shrugged, stepping a little closer.

"What if I lose that one too?" she countered.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to keep making them until one is lucky enough to last." Adrien winked.

Marinette's cheeks went as pink as her singlet. It was quite the pleasing sight, and it made the smile on his face even wider. She looked down at the charm in her hands, and then at his chest, and back to his eyes.

She opened her mouth to say something, but a thumping on the trap door interrupted.

"Did you kids want lunch?" asked Sabine, poking her head up.

"Yes, please!" they replied in serendipitous unison, and giggled together at the fact.

Adrien noticed her slip the charm into the pocket of her cardigan as he followed her down the stairs.

The feeling of fondness and satisfaction it gave him lasted for the rest of the day, and carried him to sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmore establishing chapters yaaay! the first five chapters are establishing stuff hhhh theres a lot to establish and we have to tak our time with these things u kno?
> 
> this week we have adrinette and next week we have lukanette with a side of marichat ;)
> 
> huge shout out to xan who helped me end this chapter. i was stuck and they saved my ass and i can never repay them
> 
> tune in next saturday for the next chapter and have a good one kids peace


	4. Chapter 4

On Tuesday morning, Marinette woke up and reached for her phone. There was a text from Luka.

 **{ill be there at ten. be ready or i WILL come up and get you ;) )**. It made her smile.

She'd set her alarm for seven, and it was minutes from going off. She cancelled it, got up, and began the day.

After breakfast, Marinette bid her parents goodbye and received her keys and instructions for upkeep while they were gone. She went back upstairs and up to the balcony to make sure it was clean and water the flowers.

Floor by floor, Marinette checked all that the windows were shut, all the taps securely off, and delivered anything that needed washing to either the kitchen or the laundry, including her bedsheets. She also made a round of all the switches and power points and appliances to be sure they were all off.

Then she double and triple checked that she'd packed the right clothes, wrapped the rose in some scrap material to protect it from further damage, and tucked it and the pick back into their box. For a moment, she considered leaving the charm with them like usual, but after Adrien's visit she couldn't bring herself to do it.

So Marinette got dressed and put the charm in the pocket of her skirt, and her other two treasures inside their box into the very bottom of her bag. She carried the bag down to the front door, and checked her phone. 9:55, enough time to make one more round of the building before Luka arrived.

Marinette knew that she had checked everything and that there was nothing to worry about. But with the life she led, she knew better than to let herself relax about anything.

It was as she made the final check of her room that Luka wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her from behind. She squeaked at first, but then she smiled.

"I warned you," he teased, chin resting lightly on her shoulder.

"Good morning to you, too," she replied, blushing a little and touching her arms to his.

"Ready to go?" Luka asked.

Marinette considered taking her cat pillow, but thought better of it.

"Yeah, let's go." she smiled, and followed him back down the stairs.

She pulled the door closed on the bakery, checked for her keys and wallet and phone twice each, and got in the van.

===

Luka delivered her bag to the spare room. Marinette checked out the kitchen.

The cookware was sparse and the food doubly so. There were two Chinese takeout boxes in the fridge and an unopened bag of chips on the counter.

Luka had only lived in this apartment for about four days, but she hoped he'd eaten more than that.

Marinette closed the fridge with a frown.

"I gotta go shopping later," Luka commented behind her. "Never been before, though."

She turned to him where he sat on the couch.

"Would you like it if I came along and gave you some pointers?" Marinette offered.

"I'd love it," he smiled.

===

Luka was really glad he'd brought Marinette along. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing, which was fantastic, because he had no fucking clue. He wasn’t even sure he'd ever walked inside a grocery store before today.

"Okay," she picked up a basket. "Let's just get the necessities for now."

"Lead the way." Luka gestured.

Marinette first approached the cold aisle, and walked along until she found the butters. Luka watched her inspect about four different sticks of butter.

"Why are there so many?" he asked, eyes flicking between the assortment of products on the shelves. There were a lot of colors and fonts and tiny logos. How were you supposed to know which one to buy?

"Capitalism." Marinette answered dryly. "They're all exactly the same product, but some will be cheaper, so… ok, here we are."

She returned one of the butters to the shelf and went to put the other in the basket, but paused.

"Wait, do you have any allergies?" she asked. "Are you lactose intolerant, or gluten free, or anything?"

"I don't… think so?" Luka frowned, and looked again at the frankly intimidating assortment of butter products. "Is buying food always this complicated?"

Marinette giggled, which made him smile.

"No, no," she smiled, too, dropping the butter into the basket. "After the first few times it gets a lot easier."

They continued down the cold aisle to arrive at the milk, and Luka only got more distressed when he realised just how many different kinds of milk existed.

Again, Marinette took the lead and grabbed a bottle. He was _really_ glad she knew what she was doing.

"Milk, butter," she listed to herself, counting on her fingers. "Bread, juice, eggs, meat, cheese."

A woman with a large shopping cart packed with piles of food attempted to pass them, prompting Marinette to side-step closer to the shelves. Luka followed suit, staring at the cart as it went.

"You okay?" Marinette asked him.

"Uh," he replied dumbly, turning to her. "There's just… a lot of stuff here."

"You can wait outside if you like," she offered. "If it's too much for you."

That was indeed tempting, considering the fact that it very much felt like the entire store was bearing down on him. There were a lot of colours and sounds, and the shelves were tall and imposing, and the few people passing them in the aisles began to feel like a few too many.

There was a lot happening and Luka was not coping. He swallowed. Yes, going outside sounded like a really good idea.

But… he'd feel mean making Marinette do all the shopping alone when it was for his house.

He made a face, conflicted.

"Hey," she stepped closer, looking at him in concern. Her hand went to his arm, and his focus seemed to zero in on the touch. "If you're panicking, you can go outside, and I'll be quick and we can go home."

For a good few seconds, all Luka could look at was Marinette's face.

"But it wouldn't be fair to you," was all he could manage to say.

She blinked a couple of times, then looked all around them, and back to him. She moved her hand down to hold his, and adjusted the basket on her other elbow, smiling gently up at him.

"Come on, then," Marinette tugged a little.

After the initial flustered awe (which Marinette, thankfully, didn't seem to pick up on), Luka swallowed and nodded. Marinette turned and took a single step in the direction of the end of the aisle, and looked back to him, waiting for him to be ready.

He followed her. She led him into the fourth aisle along, which seemed to consist entirely of drinks. Just dozens of brightly colored bottles on both sides for about thirty feet of shelves.

Whatever it was that tipped her off, Marinette noticed the moment it started to overwhelm him, and squeezed Luka's hand. It seemed to reset him, to stop the panic in its tracks and pull his focus back to just one little place instead of the big, foreboding environment.

"Apple juice or orange?" she asked.

"Orange," Luka replied. "Apple juice is awful."

Marinette let go of his hand to grab the bottle off the shelf, and the loss of contact was almost kind of upsetting. Then, just as quickly, he felt her fingertips begin to entwine with his own again. He wasn't prepared for the way it made his heart leap.

They walked further along the aisles and repeated the same little process at the bread.

"Do you have a preference for bread?" Marinette asked.

"Never thought about it," he turned to look down at her. She was much shorter than him now than she had been five years ago when they met. "But you're the baker's girl, so what's your professional opinion?"

She frowned and looked away.

"Sorry," Luka sighed, feeling terrible. Often, even if he didn't understand why, things he said offended people. "I really do want to know what you think, though."

"Well," Marinette spoke shyly. "Obviously we bake our own at home, but in stores, wholemeal is the best for your health."

Luka reached over and grabbed a bag of wholemeal bread and dropped it into the basket. She looked at him, and her fingers flexed lightly against his as she turned her head. He gave them a gentle squeeze, and smiled at her.

Her bright blue eyes went wide and her cheeks went red. Sometimes he forgot how adorable Marinette was.

He could have looked at her all day.

Well, actually no, unfortunately, he couldn't, because he had to watch where he was walking and read aisle signs, but _if_ he could, he would have.

Marinette took him all the way to the other end of the store. The eggs were simple, she just grabbed a small carton of six.

"What meat do you like?" she asked. "Do you like ham or chicken? Or turkey, maybe? For, like, sandwiches." 

"I like salami, actually." he replied.

This was good. This was a rhythm he could follow. Shopping seemed an awful lot less daunting now.

Luka watched Marinette as she took the lunch meat. He wondered how he ever could have done this without her. He wondered if he could ever do it without her in the future. He honestly didn't want to find out.

"I think that's everything," she nodded resolutely. "Let's head to the checkout and go home."

The woman behind the register beckoned them and began to scan the items. Her eyes fell on their still-clasped hands.

"Oh, you two are such sweethearts," she smiled and pressed a few buttons on the register screen. "First time shopping together?"

They nodded in tandem. Luka took his wallet out and pulled out his card.

"A lot of couples aren’t brave enough to hold hands in public these days," the woman motioned to the little machine.

Luka paused halfway through entering his pin and went a little pink. He felt Marinette's fingers tense and a glance out of the side of his eye confirmed she had had a similar reaction. Neither felt brave enough to correct the nice cashier lady, but they didn't let go of the other's hand, either.

Luka finished the transaction and Marinette grabbed the bags, and they walked out of the store and drove home.

===

"So most of this stuff goes in the fridge," she told him. "The bread goes in the cupboard, or just leave it on the counter."

Luka listened intently as Marinette gave him a little layout of where things were meant to sit inside the fridge. He felt confident with _that_ at least.

"Hey," he said, catching her gaze as she closed the door. "Thanks for helping me."

Marinette just smiled.

"It's no problem." she shook her head lightly. "Hey, has the studio called today?"

"No, nothing for a while, actually." Luka said, walking over to the couch. "But the cheques keep coming in, so I'm not worried."

Marinette nodded and came over to join him.

"Feel like watching a movie?" he asked as she sat.

"Yeah." she replied simply, so he booted up Netflix and scrolled until they found something.

===

It was halfway through the third movie that Marinette realised she had leant into Luka's side. He didn't seem to mind, so she stayed.

It was after the fifth that they realised how late it was getting, and decided to head for bed.

Marinette had a quick shower and went into the spare room to dress, only to discover that she had forgotten her pyjamas.

After two minutes of silently cursing herself, she just left the towel on the footboard and resolved to sleep naked until she could ask Luka to drive her back to the bakery in the morning.

Marinette got into the bed and shuffled to be comfy. She wasn't comfy for long.

The window, which sat by her legs, opened. Loudly.

She burst into sitting position, clinging the sheet to her chest, but she relaxed when she saw it was Chat Noir's head and shoulders inspecting the room.

"Princess!" he whispered, his face lighting up as his glowing eyes landed on her.

"Hey, Chat," Marinette grinned incredulously. "Wha… how did…"

The black-clad man contorted himself through the window.

"I couldn't find you at your house," Chat crawled towards her along the bed. "I had to call one of your friends to find out where you were."

"Yeah, my parents are out of town," Marinette giggled as he immediately began nuzzling her. "I couldn't be at the house alone the whole time."

"I'm glad you found somewhere safe to stay," Chat mumbled as his blonde hair tickled her. "I have had the worst day."

"How bad?" Marinette asked softly, and her answer was a forceful nudge that pushed her back down.

Oh, that bad. Bad enough that Chat didn't want to talk. Bad enough that all he wanted to do was cuddle. It'd only been this bad four times. It also explained why he'd come to visit a day early.

Marinette, still aware that she was naked and wanting to remedy that before things got uncomfortable, tried to get his very heavy, muscular body to budge.

"Chat, hold on," she pushed against him softly. "I need to-"

He made a noise in complaint.

"Chat, please, just-" she began to panic a bit, wriggling to see if he would move.

He began to purr and that really did make her want to let him cuddle, but she had to voice her concern before he noticed she was bare beneath the sheet.

"Chat," Marinette struggled, helpless against his weight. "Chat, _wait_ -"

A hand, seemingly from nowhere, grabbed Chat's chin and wrenched him up from her. A second arm wrapped around her shoulders and dragged her out of the bed and into a protective hold.

Chat, stunned, hunched back against the wall.

Marinette, similarly shocked, looked up to see that it was Luka who was holding her defensively.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Luka hissed at the superhero.

Chat said nothing, only looked to Marinette with wide eyes, his body shaking and ears flat back. She noticed his claws tense against the mattress beneath him and the tip of his tail flicker in anticipation.

"Did he hurt you?" Luka searched her face.

"No!" Marinette shook her head urgently. "No, he would never! He didn't know I was naked, I swear!"

Chat had, by now, noticed her state and was red in the face.

"You're…" Luka's eyes moved from one of her eyes to the other, and then down, just far enough that he noticed her bare chest pressed to his own. His gaze snapped away immediately, up above her head, as he wrangled his hoodie off his shoulders and offered it to her, blushing and trying not to look at her body.

Marinette turned away and slipped it on. It was absolutely too big for her, more like a dress than a shirt, and she zipped it up.

"Kitty?" she beckoned gently.

Chat looked at her with fear in his eyes, the kind of fear she'd only seen in him a handful of times. She stepped towards him, but her blue-haired companion gripped her shoulder firmly.

"Are you sure you can trust him?" Luka asked, eyeing the superhero.

"I trust him with my life," Marinette assured her roommate.

Luka looked to her with concern.

"Thank you for protecting me," Marinette told him, giving him a tight hug. "I'll be okay, I promise."

After a long moment, he let go.

"Okay," Luka slowly made for the door. "I'll be on the couch."

Marinette looked to Chat Noir. She approached him slowly, clambering onto the bed with careful movements, and held her arms out to him.

Her green-eyed partner gradually began to untense and crawl towards her again.

"Hey," she whispered.

"He thought I…" Chat breathed.

"You weren't." she put her hand to his face.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, clenching his eyes shut. "I…"

He growled and his tail got angrier.

"I've made so many mistakes today!" he spat, and Marinette flinched.

His face instantly softened. Chat sighed and pressed into her hand.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Shh, chaton," Marinette pulled him close. "It's okay. It's okay now."

Her partner groaned and pushed into her again. This time, she laid her arms around his shoulders. Chat purred into the crook of her neck.

"It's okay now." Marinette sighed, scritching amongst the locks of his hair and along his jawline.

One of Chat's hands wormed its way under her back, the other rested beside her shoulder as she pet him. He took in a deep breath, and then, oddly, recoiled from her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, surprised.

"I can't smell you," he blushed enough that the red showed under the edges of his mask. "The hoodie's smell is too strong."

"Why do you want to smell me?" Marinette cocked her head.

"I like your smell." Chat's ears twitched and he averted his gaze. "You smell like sugar and cinnamon and butter and olive oil, and the roses and lavender in your garden."

Marinette blinked, shy from the compliments. She sat up a little and pulled the zip of Luka's hoodie far enough down that it would let her budge it, but not far enough that it would expose her. She shifted the warm fabric to reveal her shoulder.

"That enough?" she asked him.

Chat nuzzled her exposed skin, and made a little hum as he breathed in.

"My favourite." he whispered fondly, his lips and breath and hair tickling her neck.

Marinette sighed contentedly and scritched at his scalp in the tangled mess of blonde again. Chat purred. She shivered with satisfaction at the familiar noise. His entire body seemed to relax.

"Feeling better, chaton?" Marinette asked him quietly, gently brushing her lips against his cheek.

"Infinitely." Chat replied softly. "You're the best, princess."

Marinette hummed and squeezed him a little tighter. His breath hitched, ever-so-slightly, and he looked to the door of the room and back to Marinette.

"I should go," he lifted himself up. "Next week?"

"I'll be here again next week." she told him. "And I'll have my clothes on next time, promise."

Chat smiled and chuckled and did his two-finger salute as he crawled out the window and into the night.

Marinette frowned briefly. Usually, Chat would make some kind of inappropriate joke… but he didn't. She was unsure as to whether that was a good thing or not.

She got up and stretched and walked to the door.

Luka was right behind it.

"Hey," Marinette said.

"Hey." Luka said.

"So, I guess I should explain..." Marinette hugged herself.

"You don't have to." Luka shook his head. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"No, you deserve to know…" Marinette took a deep breath. "Chat's my best friend, but it's a secret, because if anyone found out, someone might try to use me to hurt him."

"Oh," Luka said, looking to the floor.

Marinette gave a little hum of affirmation that ended up more like a sigh.

"So you really trust him, huh?" Luka asked.

"As much as I trust you." Marinette nodded with a smile.

Luka smiled and huffed. He reached up and gave her a pat, and let his hand linger on her head a few moments more.

"Do you want your hoodie back?" Marinette asked, fiddling with the cuffs with her fingers.

"Nah," Luka pulled his hand away, and his fingers shifted a few strands of her hair as they left it. "Night, Ma-Ma-Marinette."

"Night," Marinette blushed and retreated into her room with a silly-feeling smile.

She peeked at him disappearing into the other room past the short hall, and closed the door to finally get some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> domestic lukanette with a side of marichat
> 
> im so gotdamn tired its hecking 4 am here hhhhh
> 
> see you next week if im not dead haha


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! Quick Warning !!!: this chapter contains a vehicle accident. its not at all graphically described and there are no deaths, but there is one injury. i just wanted to put that information out there so that if car accidents are a trigger for you you can either click away or prepare yourself to read. be safe and take care of yourself, ok?

Adrien had been walking for about three hours. It probably shouldn't have taken that long to get where he wanted to go, but he'd refused to transform in broad daylight with no akuma, and he was finding himself wandering a little. This city was far less traversable on ground level.

And to top it all off, he was angry. Angry, sad, anxious, and tired, but mostly angry, and that wasn't the greatest emotion to have when attempting to focus.

On Monday, he'd been dragged through four photoshoots. _Ten hours_ of sore legs, sore eyes, annoying orders, and people watching him dress, which had only gotten more uncomfortable now that he was older. Okay places to be naked: shower, bed, in front of a close friend or partner. Bad places to be naked: in a dressing room with between one and four strangers who are paid to look at you. Adrien also found it kind of awful that of all the people that _had_ seen him naked, only one of them was someone he trusted, and even that was by accident.

Yet another thing he found awful was that he'd been undressed a million times, but never by anyone he loved, because he wanted them to. Sometimes it seemed like everyone could look at him except the one woman he _did_ want to see him naked.

Adrien was really beginning to loathe the way his father sold his body.

He was almost beginning to loathe his father, period.

Especially since yesterday, when his father accused him of missing several important events on Sunday. Adrien politely pointed out that his schedule had been empty for that day. Gabriel countered by showing a full schedule, one that had clearly been constructed on Monday, as evidence. Adrien, less politely this time, told him he was wrong. His father got angry, and used all the usual lines; subtle degrading words and warnings that turned into threats. Adrien just walked out, and hoped that it would blow over and that a visit to Marinette would get it off his mind.

He was right, but only about the second thing.

Because this morning, at seven, when his father stormed into his room with Nathalie and some emergency task that he never found out the details of, suddenly-awoken Morning Adrien didn't have the same self-restraint that level-headed Daytime Adrien had.

He'd told them to fuck off. Loudly. And angrily.

They didn't exactly comply. Instead, Gabriel tried to fight him. Adrien fought back.

Maybe he'd meant the things he'd said to his father, and maybe he hadn't. He really didn't want to think about it right now.

Right now, he was hoping Luka and Marinette would let him hang out and forget about the even worse mess his life had become in the last few days.

He walked up to Luka's front door and was hit with the usual bout of rushing thoughts. _Is this the right building? Is today really Wednesday? What if they're not home?_

He shook his head to be rid of them and reached up to knock.

"It's open!" called Luka from inside. Laughter that sounded like Marinette's followed.

Adrien tentatively turned the knob and pushed the door in.

The unmistakable sounds of Ultimate Mecha Strike III were the first thing he noticed. The second was Marinette on the couch with one of the controllers, the sight of whom was enough to instantly steady his heartbeat.

She was wearing a red singlet instead of a pink one under her cardigan today, and her hair was in pigtails for the first time in years. Of course, her hair was much longer now, but it felt a little nostalgic all the same.

He couldn't see Luka, though.

"Hey," Adrien called, hoping to sound as non-invasive as possible.

Marinette's blue eyes moved to him and she smiled. The sound of clicking controller buttons suddenly stopped as one of the robots on the screen obliterated the other.

"Come on in, dude," came Luka's voice, competing with the game's announcement of GAME OVER.

Adrien closed the door and walked forward. There, sitting cross-legged on the floor with Marinette's knees hooked quite casually over his shoulders, sat Luka with the second controller. He waved.

Adrien waved back, just the tiniest bit lost on what to do.

"Wanna play?" Luka held out the controller. "I can't beat Marinette."

"Oh, if she's still undefeated now, I have no chance," Adrien smiled, but he took the remote and a seat beside her anyway. "I haven't played in a while. But I'll give it a try."

Adrien made his selection and Marinette made hers. He found it strange that she'd picked NAD03 instead of LB-03, since LB-03 had always been her favourite. But, he supposed, tastes did change sometimes, since he'd done the same thing over the years, beginning to use LB-03 more himself.

The move set was quite different, he remembered as he took a few precursory test presses, which made him wonder if Marinette could still smash out all those combos she used to use.

It became apparent that the answer was a resounding 'yes' after approximately nine seconds, when she built up her special bar with a flurry of kicks and vaporized him before he'd gotten close enough to land a hit.

She looked pretty pleased with herself, smiling and crossing her arms smugly.

"Very nice." Luka praised from the floor, craning his neck up to see her, his hands on her knees.

"I told you," Adrien shrugged, leaning a little closer to his old schoolmate and nudging her playfully. "Marinette is _the_ reigning champion. No-one's ever been able to beat her."

"You were pretty good, too, Adrien," Marinette told him. "You did beat Max, and he was the only one that ever came close to beating me."

"Well, I'm so _rusty_ now, it probably wouldn't matter." he laughed.

Marinette's face momentarily made a suspicious expression at the pun, but she shook her head.

"Well, play against Luka," she suggested. "See exactly how much work you both need before you can challenge me again."

"Okay, Agreste," Luka turned his head to him instead. "You and me. Loser has to make lunch."

"You're on." Adrien grinned.

Marinette handed Luka her controller. Adrien selected LB-03 again. Luka selected IRON.

They were… pretty evenly matched, if he was honest. Adrien only won because his fingers regained some muscle memory halfway through the match and managed to pull a combo out of thin air, beating Luka with only a few HP left.

Which was probably a good thing, because Adrien didn't know how to make lunch.

As he thought about it, he realised, rather concerningly, that he didn't know how to make _any_ kind of food.

"Aw, man," Marinette's complaining voice reached his ears, drawing his attention to the kitchen.

She was pouting, rather cutely, at the fridge.

"What's wrong?" Luka and Adrien managed to ask at the exact same time.

"I forgot to get cheese." Marinette lightly smacked her palm against her forehead.

"It's okay," Luka said, tugging her hand away from her face. "We'll buy some later."

She sighed, but nodded.

"Wait, Adrien," Marinette turned to him. "Don’t you _always_ have some camembert on you?"

Adrien froze in place. Plagg shifted warningly in his jacket pocket, even though he probably wasn't going to take the little slice of cheese he'd nabbed in the rush out of his room that morning. Immediately, Adrien realised two things:

One, that, for some reason, Marinette knew for certain he kept camembert, but surely also knew that he barely ever ate it, which could tip her off to his identity if she knew enough about kwamis.

Two, that he had left his transforming camembert in his room, which was something he was going to have to go back for the second he had the chance.

Both of these things made his head and heart start racing on the spot.

"I, uh," he got even more nervous at the thought of returning to his house, particularly. "I don't actually have any on me right now?"

Luka and Marinette were both looking at him attentively, and while there was nothing at all negative in their gazes, it only made him feel more scrutinized, and thus worse.

"And," he said, maybe just the slightest bit too loudly. "Camembert really isn't a sandwich cheese, y'know? It should be served with like, crackers and stuff, right?"

"Yeah, you're right." Marinette shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to go cheeseless."

"Salami sandwiches it is then." Luka nodded and reached for the bread.

Adrien sat back on the couch, and put his hand over his breast pocket. Plagg was in there, and the black spirit wiggled a little in what was a fairly effective comforting gesture. What he was really searching for, though, was his Lucky Charm.

He knew that if he had it, he would be fine.

Except… it wasn't there. His heart began to stutter, and he quickly patted all of his other pockets.

Adrien swallowed. He'd left it in his room.

He would probably have had a complete panic attack if Marinette hadn't pushed a plate with a sandwich on it into his field of vision. He looked up at her.

"Here," she smiled.

"Thanks." he made himself smile back, took the plate and sat it on his lap.

Marinette sat beside him and bit into her own sandwich.

"Good?" Luka asked, joining them.

"You got just the right amount of butter," Marinette replied. "So, great, actually!"

Adrien picked up the sandwich and ate at the corner. For such a simple food item, it was even kind of pleasant.

He tried not to think about how his father would disapprove of him eating a regular sandwich.

"Hey, when's your next recital?" Marinette asked him.

"Oh," Adrien frowned and tried to remember. "Uh… in the fall, I think."

"Where?" Luka chimed in.

"I don't know yet," Adrien took another bite. "Nathalie always tells me which venue about a month before, when it's booked."

"I hope it's a small one this time." Marinette picked up Luka's plate, which had the crusts left on it, and stacked it on her own. "The last one was too big and echoey, it messed with the sound."

"Yeah," Adrien nodded, handing her his own plate and watching her stand and take them to the sink. "Do you want me to reserve you tickets this time?"

"Oh, no," she waved dismissively. "You don't have to do that."

"You've missed out the last few times, Marinette," he reminded. "You shouldn't have to miss out again if you really wanna be there."

Marinette made her considering face.

"Can you get two tickets reserved?" Luka asked, making Adrien turn to him.

"I can ask Nathalie to get them reserved, yeah," he replied.

"Marinette and I can go together," Luka shrugged. "We'll both be there to see you play."

"That'd be awesome," Adrien lit up, and looked back at Marinette. "Would you like that?"

"Well," she blushed and brought her hand to her cheek. "If you're _sure_ it's not too much trouble… then yeah, I'd really like that."

"It is absolutely not," he reassured her. "I'll tell Nathalie as soon as possible."

"Man, you're lucky," Luka leant on the back of the couch with an elbow, getting comfy. "Getting to play at a venue. All I have is a park."

"You get to play music _outside_?" Adrien asked, and then realised it was kind of sad that that idea surprised him.

"Yeah," Luka told him. "I take my guitar, sit on a bench. Sometimes people stop to listen. It's nice, but I'd love to be on a stage."

"Which park?" Marinette piped up.

"I don't know the name," the guitarist admitted. "I just know where it is."

"Take us there?" Adrien suggested eagerly. "I wanna see it!"

"Please!" Marinette joined in.

"Alright," Luka glanced between them with an awkward smile, clearly not having expected this turn of events, but also not seeming to mind in the slightest. "Lemme grab my keys."

===

It occurred to Adrien, as he listened to Marinette and Luka animatedly sing along with _More Than A Feeling_ , a song he had never learnt (and now kind of wished he had), playing from the van's radio, that he was feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time.

It made him pause and wonder why it was only now that he was feeling it.

Maybe it was Marinette, maybe it was the fabric of her cardigan or skirt. Maybe it was the wildly anachronistic and entirely enjoyable music coming out of the speakers that she and Luka were happily jamming to as they drove, an activity never permitted for Adrien's travel in the past. It probably wasn't the van itself, though… these seats were kind of awful to be sitting on.

But, somehow, even despite the unfortunate upholstery, Adrien was… _comfortable_.

There were no nagging thoughts, no urge to check his surroundings, no ever-present awareness of exhausting tasks he'd have to face in the near future.

His mind was calm.

For the first time in recent memory, his mind was calm.

The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, the grass was green, and Adrien found himself smiling as they walked through the park.

Marinette took a deep breath beside him.

"It's good to be in the fresh air," she sighed happily.

Some children rushed past them, making Marinette's pale pink skirt flicker around her legs and almost knocking Luka over. Adrien and Marinette caught him by one arm each, and the kids, who had paused to watch them, giggled and continued down the pathway. After setting their companion back on his feet and the awkward laughter and thanking, they made their way to a bench that offered them a view of the whole park.

Luka sat and Marinette squeezed up next to him to make room for Adrien. Both boys went to lie their arms across the back of the bench, but their hands collided in mid-air. More awkward chuckles before Adrien let Luka's arm take the spot and settled for putting his own across Marinette's shoulders.

Children climbed on the play equipment and scrambled about the ground. Their parents stood scattered around the area. There were people on picnic blankets and at the tables. Skaters and roller-bladers and cyclers passed on the path. The trees rustled in the wind.

"I can see why you'd come to play here," Adrien said, and Luka and Marinette's matching blue eyes landed on him. "It's nice."

"It's a lovely place," Marinette said, and then a mischievous smile crept onto her face. "Even peaceful, if you can _tune out_ the kids."

Adrien's face lit up with the pun and a smile began to grow on Luka's.

"Come on now, we're all rock and roll fans," Adrien leaned into Marinette slightly, grinning. "A little screaming shouldn’t bother us."

"Hell," Luka joined in. "Depending on the screams, it can even be enjoyable."

He wiggled his eyebrows and his two companions broke into laughter. Marinette elbowed him, earning a very quiet "oof", and Adrien offered him a fist-bump.

They were interrupted by a very loud boom.

All three snapped to attention.

"Is that…?" Marinette began.

"An Akuma?" Adrien finished.

A building a few blocks over collapsed, both a confirmation and a situational escalator. Adrien had to think of a way to separate from his friends and transform. People in the park started to panic and began to evacuate to their cars and the nearby streets.

Marinette sprung to her feet. Before Adrien or Luka could ask why, or even say anything, she'd already located the nearest gate and bolted towards it.

"Whoa, wait, Marinette!" Adrien yelled, but she showed no response.

He shook his head distressedly, took an apologetic glance at Luka beside him and started after her.

Adrien wasn't exactly the world's fastest runner, but years of extensive and rigorous physical activity meant he was proably fast enough to reach her before she got too far.

And, thankfully, agile enough. The park-goers began to crowd around the exit, but he had no trouble dodging and weaving through.

He made it through the gate in time to spot Marinette running across the road and into a street beyond.

Adrien made it halfway across the road before he was interrupted.

For a good second, about the only thing Adrien's brain understood was that everything was spinning.

He landed face down on the ground with pain in his neck, shoulder and back, and registered the sound of a car leaving his field of perception. Five years practiced in optimum recovery time in the fight against supervillains, he was up on his elbows within seconds, but as soon as he tried to move his right leg and a new area of pain became evident to him, he realised there was a serious problem.

Because immediately after that single moment of realization, all his brain had to offer was:

The sentiment _**holy fucking shit this hurts**_ , and an assortment of curses and soundless screaming.

"Shit!" came the sound of Luka's voice.

Hands that were probably also Luka's gripped him by the upper arms and dragged him, excruciatingly, out of the middle of the road. His friend had the good sense to take him into the closest alleyway, out of sight of the akuma, which had come down the road towards the park.

"Fuck," Adrien hissed, leaning against the wall.

"How much can you move it?" Luka asked, kneeling beside him and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Adrien, desperate to hope he could walk and transform and help defeat the akuma, tried to move it.

Biting back the scream and feeling the tears well in his eyes, he concluded that he shouldn't do that again any time soon.

"Okay, I'm gonna call the ambulance," Luka stood up and walked out to the entrance of the alleyway, checking the street for the supervillain before making the call.

Hoping Luka would be distracted enough not to notice, Adrien let Plagg out of his jacket pocket.

"Kid, this is bad," Plagg looked genuinely distressed, which he had never seen before.

"Yeah, I got that," Adrien rasped. "What do we do?"

"You can't transform like this," Plagg put his little flippers to his face. "And I don't know if the Cure will fix it."

"Will Ladybug even get to make one if I'm not there to help?" Adrien's breathing deepened and he began to panic.

"Shit," Plagg hissed, floating close and practically vibrating in agitation. " _Shit_!"

"Okay, the ambulance is-" Luka stopped mid-sentence and dropped his phone.

Both men and the kwami froze, hearts pounding, at the sights of each other.

Luka, mouth open and looking almost horrified, looked at Plagg and then to Adrien. Plagg looked from Adrien to Luka, and Adrien from Luka to Plagg.

Luka lifted a shaking finger and his mouth twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came.

" **Fuck.** " Plagg said, slicing into the stretching silence, stunning both of the humans.

"You…" Luka managed to choke out, but not many more words followed. "You… akuma... Ladybug…"

He gave up on trying to talk, put both hands to his face and began to pace along the alleyway.

"What do we do?!" Adrien grabbed Plagg from the air and shook him.

"I don’t know..." Plagg replied, sounding and looking as though he was far-away. "I don't know..."

"Marinette." Luka stopped mid-step. "What's gonna happen to Marinette if Ladybug can't stop this akuma?"

Adrien very near ceased to breathe. He looked at the ring on his finger.

"There has to be something." he hissed, fingers flexing around Plagg. "I have to do something!"

"Your leg is _fucked_!" Luka yelled at him, more distressed than angry. "You can't do anything!"

It was then that Adrien saw it. He looked into Luka's panicking face above him, and to Plagg's distant one below it in his hands, and got an idea.

He dropped Plagg and Plagg made a very small noise in protest before catching himself with levitation. Adrien almost tore the ring from his finger.

Luka baulked as Adrien held the ring out to him, his distress falling away and fear and shock replacing it. 

"Whoa, kid, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Plagg cried.

"Do you have any better ideas!?" Adrien snapped.

He turned his attention back to his friend. Luka wasn't even looking at the ring being offered to him. He was looking at Adrien.

"I trust you, Luka," Adrien swallowed, staring into his blue eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Luka closed his eyes, reached out, took the ring, and put it on his right ring finger.

"I know you can do this." Adrien told him, holding eye contact and making what he hoped was a reassuring expression. "Just say ' _transforme moi_ '."

" _Transforme moi_." his friend repeated with a deep breath.

A green flash engulfed him, which made him fidget a little and Adrien stare in awe.

"Okay," Superhero Luka said, inspecting his hands. "That's… okay. Alright."

"Go." Adrien told him. "The ambulance will be here soon. They shouldn't see you with me."

Luka nodded and swallowed and turned.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Adrien smiled.

Luka nodded, gave a weak smile, looked up the side of the building, prepared himself to jump, leapt up... and he was gone.

And Adrien sat alone in the alleyway, and waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahahaha please dont hurt m e
> 
> im so sorry im late. i have had THE worst flu. but!! the good news is chapter 6 was already partially written when i started chapters 1 thru 5 so im actually ahead now and you better belive im going to go back to Being Ahead of the game
> 
> ..... see you in 5 days


	6. Chapter 6

Adrien was _livid_.

He bounced his good leg, so furiously that, after some time, it began to shift and hurt the broken one, too.

Yes. Broken.

 _Everything_ was going to shit.

He and Ladybug had made such progress recently, and this would halt it in its tracks. The guy in the car had driven off, which meant no justice for his injury. His father would be less than pleased that he'd miss two months of work. He couldn't reach Marinette, which terrified him, and Luka was out there, completely unprepared and up against an akuma, and Ladybug… good god, how would Ladybug take all this?

And Adrien was sitting in the world's most uncomfortable plastic chair with a fresh and weird-smelling cast covering the entire lower half of his left leg until Luka got back.

A nurse had given him a plastic tube to stick in his mouth and bite down on, to avoid breaking his teeth as he clenched them in fury.

He rubbed his hands all over his face and through his hair, watching the akuma attack on the news playing on the emergency room's TV in the far corner, praying everything was going to be okay.

===

Luka was _fucking_ terrified.

He was not prepared for this at all. He had so many questions and he knew he would get no answers until later, which was way later than he needed them. Was this actually leather? Were these claws real? How did these ears attach? What the fuck was up with this tail?

But there was one thing Luka knew, and that was that if he didn't go and help Ladybug, everything would go to shit.

Well, more shit.

So he was jumping and running across rooftops, and he was thankful that he seemed to be doing it automatically, because he was damn sure he'd never done a backflip before, but somehow he'd just done one without snapping his neck.

When he reached the akuma, some giant, freaky-looking hulk of a man dressed as a stunt biker from the fifties, he wasn't sure what to do. He watched the civilians running about the streets and Ladybug jumping around the supervillain.

"Chat!" Ladybug yelled from afar. "Get the bus out of the road!"

Luka sprinted along the roof to the corner and looked down to the street below.

A bus had been knocked on its side.

Now, Luka was no expert, but he knew enough about Ladybug and Chat Noir to know they didn't have super strength. He did, however, know he had a baton, so maybe that would be of some use?

Luka took the shiny metal staff off where it sat diagonally across his back and inspected it. There was the signature neon green pawprint, but not much else. He crouched and pointed it down at the bus, frowning. Adrien would _really_ have to explain shit to him.

He pressed the green pawprint with his thumb. The baton extended faster than he'd expected, shooting down and striking the undercarriage of the bus and pushing it onto the sidewalk and almost into the Seine beyond. A sea of citizens streamed into the streets past where the blockage had been as the staff returned to normal length in his hands.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug cried in the distance, making Luka turn.

He returned the staff to his back, and was briefly distracted as his tail flickered wildly. He stared at it in confused horror, which only made it move more and begin to really freak him out.

"Chat!" the spotted superheroine shouted, snapping him out of his trance. "Kick his head!"

With absolutely no confidence nor faith, Luka got up, jogged to the opposite edge of the building, and took a running leap toward the enemy, which Ladybug had somehow managed to tie up.

He had to admit that was kind of exhilarating, soaring through the air like that, and it felt just the tiniest bit satisfying when his heavy boot made contact with the villain's weird looking helmet and cracked it big-time as he bounced off it, somersaulted mid-air and landed on the apartment complex behind it.

A black butterfly emerged from the lines of the crack, and in seconds Ladybug had snagged it and sent it fluttering away.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" echoed the iconic line, and then the Cure washed the whole city clean.

Luka was kind of at a loss for what to do now. Should he meet up with Ladybug and try to talk to her? Should he go to Adrien at the hospital? Should he go find Marinette? Should he go and get his van?

He didn't get to decide.

Ladybug decided for him.

She leapt up onto the roof he stood upon.

"Nice work, Chat," she brushed her hands. "But why didn't you use Cataclysm on the b-"

She stopped mid word. Her blue eyes looked him up and down, her face morphing from surprised to horrified and landing on angry.

She punched him, right in the face.

Luka, reverting back to being completely terrified, reeled backward. Somehow, there was no pain, but he still felt the force.

As soon as he righted himself, Ladybug was on him again. She tried another punch, but he blocked her with his arm, which she just grabbed, wrenched behind him and pinned him to the wall of the neighboring building with.

" _Who are you and what did you do with my partner_?!" she hissed.

This really was not the way Luka hoped this would go, but in all honesty, he couldn't blame her.

" _ **Where is my partner?!**_ " she yelled. " _ **ANSWER ME!**_ "

"He got hit by a car," Luka managed to wheeze. Boy, Ladybug was strong.

"W-what?" she whispered weakly, a quite jarring switch of tone, and let him go. "Is he…"

"He's alive, I promise," he turned to her, cradling his arm even though it didn’t hurt. "But his leg is probably broken."

Ladybug's face was now highly reminiscent of one of Marinette's usual expressions, her face of silent anxiety, the clear sign she was overthinking something. Ladybug seemed to be doing the same thing.

"Hey," he beckoned. "It's gonna be okay."

"That’s a bold promise." Ladybug said, shaking a little and crossing her arms.

"A-" Luka began, but snapped his mouth shut. He didn’t know if it was a good idea to use their real names. "…Chat said he trusted me, and he asked me to trust him."

She looked at him with what he could tell was a guarded expression.

"Even if you don't trust me," Luka swallowed and he noticed her eyes follow something behind his feet. "I promise I'm going to help you until he can come back."

Ladybug looked back up to the stranger's face from his twitching tail. Assuming it followed the same patterns as Chat's, he was telling the truth, but Ladybug knew better than to do anything without forethought.

She scrutinized everything about him. His stance, his expression, the markedly different outfit, the similarly-styled but wildly differently colored hair, and last but in no way least, his _eyes_.

Chat Noir's eyes were brilliant green, like Adrien's. The color of healthy plants and emeralds and glowsticks.

This man's eyes were blue, like Luka's. Like the sky on a clear day, or Adrien's scarf, or… damn. Marinette couldn't think of a blue gem to compare them to right then.

She realised she had been staring too long when her companion began blushing, and her earrings beeped.

"How many spots have I got left?"

"Three," the new guy counted. "I guess that means you should go then?"

"Yes, I should." she said.

She didn't _want_ to.

Marinette wanted desperately to stay. To question this man, to find out about her partner, to figure out how to deal with all this with her… new partner.

But she had to get back to her boys at the park.

So she took a deep breath, grabbed her yoyo, and readied it.

"Meet me on top of the Eiffel Tower tomorrow night at 10pm." she told him.

He nodded, and then she swung away. 

===

Adrien and Luka were not in the park.

They were not in the surrounding streets, either.

Marinette took our her phone. Usually, while she was transformed, it sort of popped out of existence, leaving her several missed phone calls and messages.

Today was no different, except for the fact that all the calls were from one person: Adrien.

Marinette hit dial before she could remember to think up an excuse like normal.

[Marinette?] Adrien answered. [Oh my god! Where have you been? Are you alright?]

"I'm a little freaked out," Marinette replied honestly. "But I'm not hurt. Where are you? Is Luka there?"

[Luka had to go somewhere.] he said. [I'm at the hospital.]

"You're WHAT?" Marinette shrieked.

Adrien, on the other side of the phone, cringed a little.

"It's okay, I'm fine." he figured he should reassure her. "I just… got hit by a car, that’s all."

[ _That's all!_ ] Marinette hissed sarcastically, but Adrien knew she wasn't trying to be mean to him.

Marinette and Luka were both sensitive and caring people. She was just upset and worried about him, like Luka had been when he yelled in the alley.

Marinette, hurrying out of the park again, was trying to remember where the closest hospital was, eyes darting between street signs her brain refused to read. 

"So… what's the damage, then?" she asked gently. "H-how bad is it?"

[Just a broken leg, Mari.] even though she couldn't see him, Marinette knew he was probably smiling.

She felt a little better for a moment, and then her stomach dropped to the centre of the earth.

Adrien had a broken leg? At the same time as Chat did?

That was horribly upsetting.

And it was also too big a coincidence to ignore.

[Marinette?] Adrien asked.

She'd been quiet for too long. She shook away her thoughts and began walking.

"Which hospital are you in?" she asked. "I'm coming to get you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhhh IM LATE AnD ITS SHORTER AND iM SORRY
> 
> i hope you like it!!


	7. Chapter 7

Adrien saw Marinette running toward the huge glass doors and perked up. She darted through, glanced around wildly until she spotted him, and hurried over to him.

The first thing she did was hug him where he sat, still panting from the run. Adrien was, admittedly, a little stunned by this, but he hugged back gratefully. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest.

"Are you all checked out?" Marinette asked, still fairly breathy, eyes searching all over his face and shoulders and fingers brushing the tips of his hair on his forehead in concern. "Is it safe to take you home?"

"Your home or mine?" he asked, trying not to give away exactly how much he did not want to go back there.

He failed.

"Wha…" Marinette steadied and looked at him with worry in her eyes. "Did something happen?"

"I had a fight with my dad," Adrien turned his eyes to the floor. "I really don't want to go back there again. Ever."

Marinette seated herself in the chair next to him and put her hand on his arm.

"But," he sighed and put his hands to his face. "It looks like I have to now."

"Like hell you do." she said resolutely. "You're coming home with me and Luka."

"Will Luka be okay with that?" Adrien asked.

"I don't see why he wouldn't be," Marinette told him. "You guys get along real well. We'll at least ask."

"And if the answer is no?" he questioned.

"Then I'll just take you back to the bakery." she shrugged.

"Like…" Adrien's head reeled a little, partially from the pain medication. "Like move in… with you?"

"If you don't want to live with me, im sure we can find somewhere else for you to stay," Marinette smiled. "You'll never have to go back there again if you don’t want to."

Moving in with Marinette… what a concept.

Flashes of images leapt through his mind. Thoughts of waking up to wonderful breakfast smells and seeing Marinette's face every morning. Of no schedules, of doing what he liked as long as he liked. Of eating dinner with Marinette and maybe Luka, too, and watching a movie till late with them on the couch.

Of not having to do anything alone in his huge cold house anymore.

Of… not having to _sleep_ alone.

Adrien wanted those things. Very badly.

"Did they give you crutches?" Marinette asked, drawing him away from a vision of morning sunlight falling on her sleeping body beside his in a warm bedroom.

"They said they didn’t have any." he replied.

"Oh no." she frowned. "Okay, well…"

Marinette stood up and stretched and rolled her shoulders.

"Get ready for a long walk then." she said, offering her arm.

===

Adrien was kind of in awe as Marinette walked him along the sixth or seventh street towards the apartment. How she was carrying his weight or holding her patience for his awful limping, he might never understand.

The sun was beginning to get low, but Adrien felt like this day had simultaneously rushed past and gone on far too long.

He wondered where Luka was, and how he was handling things, and what Plagg was going to say about all this. He was nervous, too. Should he have given more instructions or explanations? He'd seen the cure over the news, so it seems nothing had gone _especially_ wrong…

But Adrien was still apprehensive.

"Doing okay?" Marinette asked him, drawing him back to the present.

"Could we sit for a bit?" he replied, very much needing to be still for a moment.

"Yeah," Marinette walked him a little further to the closest bench and helped him down. "I'm gonna try and call Luka."

Adrien frowned at his leg as Marinette dialled. Once she held the phone up to her ear, her free arm came to squeeze his shoulders gently. He looked up in silent questioning and she gave him a sad smile as the phone rang. Adrien wrapped his arms around her middle and hugged into her side, craving comfort.

The 'call could not connect' message sounded and Marinette hugged him back, partly distracted by Luka's unavailability. Luka always had his phone.

Always. He got nervous if he didn't have it with him, charged and with credit.

If he wasn't answering, or _at least_ sending a text, something was probably wrong.

Marinette took a deep breath. She had to get Adrien home.

"C'mon," she said quietly. "Let's go before it gets cold out."

===

As soon as Marinette deposited Adrien onto the edge of the big bed in Luka's room, her knees gave out. Adrien caught her and the look on his face was one of fear and worry.

"I'm okay," she smiled. "Just beat."

"Is this your bed?" Adrien asked. "You can sleep. I'll wait till Luka gets back and talk to him."

"No, this is Luka's bed." Marinette shook her head, looking terrible and shaking just the slightest bit in his arms. "And there's no way I'd be able to sleep until he gets back."

"Marinette," Adrien caught her weary eyes. "At least lie down."

Somehow, she even wanted to contest him on _that_.

"Let me at least call Nathalie first," Marinette said, pushing herself up to her feet again. "I'll let her know what's happening. And then I'll try Luka again, and if I can't reach him before the sun sets…"

"What will you do?" Adrien asked as she broke away from his hold.

"I'll call in that favour Ladybug owes me." Marinette said so quietly he almost didn't hear it. "And we'll search the city till we find him."

And then she stepped out of the room.

It was this moment that Luka chose to crawl in the window and across the bed to the centre of the room.

Adrien turned to face him so fast, one of the muscles in his side started to hurt.

"L-!" the blond stopped himself and snapped his gaze to the door.

Luka turned his attention to beyond the door as well. He could hear Marinette on the other side. She sounded distressed. He wanted to see her, but he knew he couldn't right now.

Adrien looked Luka over. His hair had gone from black and blue to black and green, but his eyes had stayed blue even though they were cat's eyes now.

The suit was different. Much… spikier than his own: instead of a gold bell at his neck, the collar was decorated with silver spikes. The suit itself wasn't a bodysuit anymore, but it was still made of the magical not-leather, a heavy jacket with rolled up sleeves and skinny, shiny-looking pants. Luka's boots went up to his knee, but the metal caps that looked like paws remained the same.

Even the belt was different, it was a big, thick double-holed thing. He had gloves with cuffs a lot like Adrien's suit, but his forearms were bare.

His mask was, oddly, in two parts, splitting at the nose, with single spikes under his eyes that looked like the mask had fangs, and spikes on the top edges of the mask that reached up on his forehead to meet the hairs of his bangs.

All in all… a pretty good look, in Adrien's opinion. Or, it would be, under different, less distressed circumstances.

"What's she saying?" Adrien asked in a whisper, knowing full well Luka could now hear through the door.

"She's talking to Nathalie about your moving out." Luka looked to him, and something in him jolted a little when he met those blue cat eyes.

"If you don’t want me to move in, I won't." Adrien swallowed. "Mari and I will go to the bakery and we'll just live there."

Luka stared at him for a moment, but said nothing. Then his eyes did a bit of a dance around the room, and finally he opened his mouth to whisper again.

"Move in."

It wasn't an order, but it wasn't a question either.

Adrien nodded.

"What now?" Luka whispered. "Do I turn back to normal?"

"Not here!" Adrien hissed, eyes darting to the door again.

"Oh, right." Luka looked so _tense_ that Adrien could feel it second-hand. The fancy new thick belt-tail was flickering like mad. "What…"

"You need to go back to the park," Adrien said. "Detransform and get in your car and call Marinette."

"How?" Luka made a little questioning gesture with his hand. "My phone is gone."

"Yeah, whatever you're wearing kinda pops out of existence when you transform." Adrien told him. "Once you're out of the suit you'll have it back. It'll have all your missed messages. Just call Marinette and make up an excuse as to why you couldn't before."

"You mean," Luka's blue eyes shot to the door. "Lie?"

He looked… _hurt_ at the thought of deceiving Marinette. Adrien hurt, too.

This was all a very big mess.

"I know." he breathed. "I hate it, too."

Luka's cat ear twitched towards him, followed by his eyes.

"I wish I could tell her the truth." Adrien put his head in his hands. "It would make everything so much _easier_. But I can't. _We_ can't."

Luka's hands curled into fists, and he frowned.

"This is gonna be hard," Adrien whispered, looking up at his friend again. "But I know you can do it."

"You'll help me, right?" Luka swallowed. "There's no way I can do this by myself."

"You won’t have to." Adrien promised. "We'll do it together."

The man wearing his ring visibly relaxed at this.

"We can do this." Adrien smiled. "Now go get your car and call Marinette."

"Yeah, ok. We can do this." Luka breathed out and headed toward the window again. "Wait. How do I detransform?"

"The word ' _detransformation_ '." Adrien shooed him a little with his hands. "Go on, quick, before the call is over."

And Luka nodded, wrangled himself through the window frame, and crawled up the side of the building.

Marinette came in, putting her phone back in the pocket of her skirt. She didn't exactly look happy.

"What did she say?" Adrien swallowed.

"Nathalie can get all the paperwork done," Marinette said, hugging herself a little. "But your dad won't be happy."

"I didn't expect him to be," Adrien looked to the floor.

"She won't tell him unless he asks," Marinette came over to sit beside him. "So who knows how long it'll be before he realises you're gone."

"Not long enough." Adrien whispered.

Marinette tentatively leant on his shoulder. He curled his arm around her.

"She warned me that you won’t be able to just come and get your stuff without making your dad mad." she whispered. "If you want anything from your room…"

She took a deep breath, and then finished with:

"You're gonna have to break in and steal it."

This wouldn't be a problem if Adrien was still Chat Noir. He would just go to the bakery, borrow the duffle bag in Marinette's closet and climb into his stupid room, stuff it with anything he held dear and leave forever like a thief in the night.

But he wasn't, he couldn't, and everything was a mess.

The phone in Marinette's pocket vibrated.

She snatched it out and Adrien got a good look at the admittedly cute photo she'd set for this number - a selfie of Luka and Marinette, faces close together and smiling.

"Luka?" Marinette answered instantly.

[Marinette?] came the small muted voice from the speaker.

"Oh, god," she sighed and put her hand to her chest. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

[I'm in my car, and I'm fine.] he replied. [Did… did you guys go back to the apartment?]

"Yeah," Marinette nodded, even though she knew Luka couldn’t see her. "We're here."

[Good. Is Adrien okay?]

"I'm okay," Adrien offered.

[Alright. Good. Okay.] Luka let out a held breath on the other end of the line.

"You're… you're coming home now, right?" Marinette asked, very quietly.

[I'm coming right back, I promise. I'll be home in a few minutes, ok?] came the gentle reply.

"Okay, see you soon." she smiled a little.

The call ended. Marinette took a few worryingly shaky breaths.

"Hey," Adrien squeezed her gently. "He's okay, and he'll be home soon. Everything's alright."

"Yeah," she replied, but the word barely made an audible sound as it left her throat.

"Mari," Adrien whispered.

Marinette looked at him. She was tired and worried and her clear blue eyes gave it all away.

"Do you have your lucky charm?"

She reached into the pocket of her cardigan and pulled out the charm.

"See?" Adrien told her. "As long as you have that, everything's going to be fine."

Marinette nuzzled his shoulder and her thumb rubbed at one of the beads.

"I forgot to take yours with me this morning," Adrien murmured. "And now I have a broken leg."

"I'm sorry about your leg." Marinette whispered.

"It's not your fault."

She hugged him tighter.

Then the sound of the front door opening made her shoot to her feet.

Luka appeared in the bedroom doorway.

"I'm sorry, guys," he had his hands in his pockets. "I lost my phone in the park during the akuma and I only just found it again."

Marinette said nothing. Instead she walked over and threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

After a stunned moment, Luka hugged her tight and nuzzled in her hair.

If this had been a movie, Adrien thought, this would be the part with the soft, light piano music.

"How's your leg?" Luka asked Adrien, partially uncurling from Marinette.

"Broken," Adrien replied, partially in an attempt to lighten the mood.

It worked, because Marinette smiled and Luka gave a small chuckle.

"Are you guys hungry?" Marinette asked. "Because I'm not up to eating dinner."

"I would also…" Adrien admitted. "Like to sleep actually."

"Sounds good." Luka sighed. "I take it that means you're staying the night then?"

Adrien realised that, to Marinette's knowledge, Luka wasn’t supposed to have found out about the plan to move him in, and now Luka was trying to create the opportunity to address it. Adrien was impressed by this, and, full disclosure, a little relieved.

Marinette gestured with her eyes, trying to signal him to ask. It was kind of adorable.

"I might… stay for a while, if that…" Adrien swallowed. Even though he already knew the answer, asking was still nerve-wracking. "If that's okay?"

"I don't see why not," Luka looked to Marinette, who was tucked under his arm still, and then back to Adrien. "I mean, I know you'll literally _always_ be good for rent."

Adrien chuckled and Marinette gave a tiny, contented sigh that he would never have picked up if he didn't know her so intimately.

Marinette excused herself to the bathroom briefly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" both boys asked at the same time, then had a short laugh about it.

"Yeah." Luka said. "We can talk more tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, yes." Adrien nodded. "We're going to make it through this."

"Uhh," Luka shed his hoodie and tossed it toward the door. "You're okay with sharing the bed, right? Like, with me?"

"Yeah, sure." Adrien blinked. "Why?"

"Just…" Luka sat down beside him. "I don’t know how Marinette feels about sharing, and I don't want to do anything that could make her uncomfortable. Would it be ok if we just shared?"

"She never had a problem sharing with me…" Adrien murmured. "Or, uh, Chat Noir, I guess, since she doesn't know he's me…"

Luka looked nervous, his eyes on the door.

"We can share," Adrien nudged him with his shoulder. "I don't mind at all."

The tiny smile tugging at the edges of Luka's lips was something Adrien could honestly describe as cute.

Marinette walked in with her hair down, wearing a long shirt to sleep in.

"Alright, how are we doing this?" she asked them.

She moved her hands to her hips. The movement there catching their eyes directed their lines of vision to her very bare and very attractive legs. 

Luka and Adrien swallowed simultaneously.

After a fair amount of shuffling and awkward giggles, sorries and sighs, Adrien found himself between the wall and Marinette's torso with her arms around his shoulders, which was, honestly, exactly what he needed.

A single spot of familiarity and comfort in the face of the mess.

"Everyone good?" Marinette whispered.

"Yeah," Adrien replied into her chest.

Luka gave an affirmative hum and a light squeeze to Marinette's middle where he held her.

"Goodnight," she breathed, and the sound of her voice, so full of warmth and gentleness, was all Adrien needed to fall into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im Late again im sorry
> 
> i really hope yall r enjoying this


	8. Chapter 8

Adrien woke when Marinette moved, but he did nothing, probably drifting back to sleep after she'd left his hold.

It was when Luka moved, too, that he figured paying attention might be a good idea.

He watched Luka walk out into the lounge and leave the door open at a convenient enough angle that Adrien could adjust his position to watch through.

Marinette sat on the couch with what must have been hot cocoa.

"Oh, no," she whispered when Luka approached in the darkened room. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry…"

"No, no," Luka sat down beside her, speaking with a quiet voice and comforting tone. "I couldn't sleep, either."

She offered him the mug and he leant in and sipped from it.

"Why'd you get up?" he asked softly.

"It was… getting too hot in there." Marinette replied.

"To be fair," Luka smiled at her. "I think _any_ room with Adrien in it is going to get too hot after a while."

Adrien went pink in the cheeks as he heard Marinette giggle and offer the cocoa to Luka again.

"But, seriously," Luka murmured. "Are you okay?"

"Today was…" she sighed softly as he took a sip from the mug. "A little crazy."

"Tell me about it." he replied. "I'm starting to wish it was all a really shitty dream."

Marinette looked into the room, and Adrien closed his eyes as quickly as he could, but he wasn't sure it mattered in the darkness.

"I think we all wish that," she whispered.

Luka took another sip of the cocoa and Marinette finished it and put it down on the floor. Then they looked to one another in the dark.

"Where did you go?" they asked simultaneously.

They went a little wide eyed, then chuckled together and took deep breaths.

"You first," Luka whispered.

"In case of an akuma…" Marinette bit her lip. "I know how to get Ladybug. But it's a secret, and-"

"No, it's okay," Luka told her, reaching for her arm. "Superhero stuff. I get it."

She smiled and let out a small breath, but then her smile fell.

"You disappeared." Marinette murmured, looking right at him.

"I know," Luka frowned. "I'm sorry, Marinette."

"No, it wasn't your fault," she shook her head. "I _know_ it wasn't your fault…"

She took a shaky breath and swallowed.

"But you scared me." Marinette whimpered.

"It's okay, now. I'm home." Luka moved his hand from her arm up to her cheek. "I'm back and here and safe and okay."

He smiled at her and she held her arms up to embrace him.

The hug was tender, so much so that Adrien felt a little guilty for eavesdropping on such an intimate moment.

"How did you get back?" Luka asked.

"We… we walked." Marinette whispered.

"Wh- _the whole way_?" he held her out from himself far enough to question her. 

"Yeah," she breathed, looking worried.

"Why didn't you take a cab?" Luka begged.

"Adrien didn't have his wallet and I left mine in the van," Marinette said, now sad. "And we couldn't reach you, so…"

Luka was searching her face, holding her by the arms.

"Alright, you get away with this one," he grumbled, glancing around the room. "Where did you put the crutches?"

"They…" she squeaked. "They didn't have any."

Luka shot his gaze back to Marinette, wide eyed in realization.

" ** _You carried him_**?!" he hissed.

She shrunk in shame in his hands.

"Marinette!" Luka shook her a little. "You could have hurt yourself!"

"It's okay," Marinette pleaded. "It's worth it to know he got home safe."

"What. Hurts." he demanded.

She looked to the floor.

"My… legs are a little sore."

Luka immediately scooped Marinette into his lap and curled around her protectively with a sigh. He ran his hand gently along her leg.

"I know you love helping people, Marinette," Luka murmured to her. "But you have to take care of yourself, too."

She had no retort, no argument for this. She just huddled closer to him.

"That said," Luka whispered. "And, don't you ever try anything like it again, or so help me god…"

She looked at him with wide, timid eyes.

"That… _was_ impressive." he admitted. "You do know you're amazing, right?"

"You tell me all the time." Marinette breathed.

Luka smiled and bumped his forehead to hers. They looked into one another's eyes for some time.

Adrien felt slightly embarrassed that he'd been spying. He tried rolling over to get more comfortable, but that plan was foiled by the heavy cast on his dumb broken leg. He ended up half sprawled across the bed.

"I think I heard Adrien moving," Luka mumbled.

"Let's go back to bed before he notices we're up." Marinette whispered, and Adrien heard shuffling that probably indicated them untangling from one another. "And… Luka?"

"Yeah." he replied.

"You're amazing, too." she spoke so softly Adrien almost didn't hear. He then heard what must have been a kiss to a cheek, and a very small gasp.

More shuffling and soft footsteps. He closed his eyes to pretend he was still asleep.

Then silence as they arrived at the bed.

"Oh," Luka sighed. "I guess we're taking the spare bed."

"Hang on," Marinette whispered. "Chat does this sometimes. There's a secret to get him to roll over. Maybe it'll work on Adrien."

Luka said nothing, and Adrien knew what was coming when Marinette crawled onto the bed and he felt the mattress shuffle.

He felt the little finger making its way under his back towards his spine. It poked him in a spot that made his entire body clench.

"Oop!" Marinette squeaked as Adrien was involuntarily wrenched up to sitting position by most of the muscles in his core contracting at once. "It's a lot stronger on Adrien…"

Adrien, wide eyed, opened his mouth. Out came an unintelligible little noise with several syllables that could have been a word in another place and time.

"Even makes the same noise," Marinette chuckled and shared a glance with Luka. "Adrien?"

He turned his head to look at them, a little dazed.

"Sorry," Marinette put her hand to her mouth. "Are you okay?"

He really couldn't bring himself to be upset with her.

"Yeah," he shuddered. "But, wow, that hurt."

"Oh, no," Marinette reached over and gave the spot a little rub. "I'm sorry."

When he was transformed, the spot never hurt, nor did it affect him so intensely, but getting attention from Marinette was almost making it worth the pain.

"It's okay." Adrien sighed and gave a weak smile. "Can we go back to sleep?"

"Same position as before?" Marinette asked.

Luka had been watching them with silent curiosity, rubbing his arm shyly, and tucking the information of Adrien's spot away in his memory for later, in case he ever needed to use it himself.

"You can face Luka, this time, if you like." Adrien told Marinette.

This offer made Luka perk up and look at Adrien with something foreign in his blue eyes. Whatever it was felt positive, but Adrien had never encountered it before.

"Yeah, okay!" Marinette scooted under the blanket again and pressed lightly up against Adrien. 

He slipped his arms around her waist and nuzzled between her shoulder blades. She giggled and welcomed Luka into her own arms. The deep, happy hum that slipped from his lips and made its way to Adrien's ear sent shivers down his spine.

And, content, Adrien slept again.

===

When he woke, Adrien was alone.

He sat up, and was abruptly reminded of his broken leg as it twinged with the effort of moving.

The events of yesterday caught up with him all at once. Anger and sadness clouded his mind. Usually, when he felt like this, he would leave and do something to get his mind off it.

But there was no escaping the problem when the problem was attached to you.

He rubbed his face and took a few deep breaths. He wouldn't let himself get upset. He had to keep it together, for Marinette and Luka's sake.

The front door opened and the sounds of footsteps and rustling bags reached him.

"You can breathe now." Marinette's voice sounded gentle.

"Sorry," Luka's voice came in reply. "Still not used to it."

"You'll get there." she encouraged. "You did really great this time."

"That cashier lady still thinks we're dating." Luka said, and they both laughed a little.

The rustling accompanying their words told Adrien they had probably bought food.

"Check on Adrien, he's probably hungry." Marinette suggested.

"I am definitely hungry." Adrien replied in what he hoped was not a whiney tone.

"Hang on, man," Luka called. "Gimme a sec and I'll bring you out to the couch."

After some more rustling, Luka opened the door.

"Good morning, sunshine," he grinned. "You musta been beat, it's like two."

"Oh, sorry." Adrien said.

"Don't worry, dude, we've all done it." Luka smiled. "Now, uh, maybe…"

Luka took Adrien's right arm and hooked it over his shoulders and wrapped his left arm around his back.

"On three," Luka said. "One, two, three."

With combined effort, they hoisted him off the bed. Adrien was only a little taller than Luka, but he was also much, much heavier, so it took a fair amount of effort.

"How did Marinette do this for like four hours?" Luka grunted.

"I still don't know." Adrien replied.

It took them far longer than it should have to make it the ten feet to the couch from the bedroom door. Setting Adrien down was much easier, of course, with gravity on their side. Luka did fall into him, though, which was awkward for about three seconds until Marinette laughed.

"I have coffee with Alya this afternoon." she said, putting something into the fridge.

"She's back in town?" Adrien asked as Luka detangled from him.

"Yeah, passing through on her way to Nice." Marinette smiled. "So she'll be here to pick me up soon."

"Is she gonna see Nino?" Luka asked.

Marinette bit her lip, communicating the solemn answer to them both. Then her phone chimed.

"Oh, that's her," Marinette made for the door. "You two play nice, ok? I'll be home soon!"

Adrien called out a goodbye and Luka waved.

"Oh, hey, did you buy camembert?" Adrien asked as his friend got up.

"Yeah, Marinette mentioned you liked it." Luka made his way to continue unpacking the groceries.

"Actually, it's Plagg who eats it all the time." Adrien said. "I'm surprised he hasn't asked you for any already."

"He… actually hasn't said anything," Luka said, fishing a wheel of camembert out of one of the bags and tossing it to Adrien.

Adrien caught the camembert and frowned.

"Nothing?" he asked in disbelief.

"Nothing," Luka looked over as he put something in the cupboard above the toaster. "… He _can_ talk, right? I wasn't imagining it?"

"No, he…" Adrien blinked. "He barely ever _shuts up_."

Luka paused and looked at the ring on his hand.

"Is he sick or something?" he asked.

"He… shouldn't be," Adrien started to get concerned. "Where is he now?"

"I think he's hiding in my hood." Luka reached behind his head.

An angry yowl sounded and Luka ducked in surprise as Plagg zipped out and into the air between the kitchen and lounge.

"Plagg?" Adrien instinctually opened the camembert.

Plagg said nothing, and instead scowled and flicked his tail.

"Do you want some cheese?" Adrien held out the box.

Plagg then opened his mouth and spoke.

In Mandarin.

"{Save it.}" he said.

Luka blinked.

Adrien didn't break eye contact with the black spirit as he put the lid back on the box.

"Plagg?" Adrien questioned in a warning tone.

"What?" Luka asked very weakly from the kitchen.

"He's speaking in Chinese," Adrien furrowed his brow.

" _Chinese_?" Luka clarified.

"Mandarin," Adrien shook his head a little as he corrected himself. "First human language the kwamis learnt."

"Why…?" Luka swallowed.

No reply.

"Plagg, why?" Adrien pressed.

"{I don't want to talk.}" Plagg said.

"What?" Adrien scowled. "But you'r-"

"{I don't want to talk to _him_.}" Plagg clarified.

"Why not?!" Adrien hissed.

"{I don’t like him.}" the kwami said, as if that justified it.

"I don't care," Adrien's voice went low, his patience wearing thin. "You're working with him, whether you like it or not."

"{I'm not going to talk to him.}" Plagg crossed his flippers.

"You. Have. To." Adrien growled. "He's all we've got."

Plagg said nothing.

Luka tentatively made his way to the couch and took a seat beside Adrien.

"Talk to him." Adrien gestured.

"{No.}" the cat spirit insisted.

"Plagg, we don't have a choice."

"{We had a choice. You made the wrong one.}" Plagg spat.

"What the fuck was I supposed to do?!" Adrien spat bck. "Give you to Marinette?"

"{No,}" Plagg blinked.

"What's happening?" Luka whispered, sounding scared. "What's he saying?"

"He doesn't want to talk to you." Adrien told him, and turned on Plagg again. "Look, you can be mad at me, ok?"

Plagg took a barely-noticeable double take.

"Be mad at me," Adrien repeated. "But don't take it out on Luka. He doesn't deserve it."

"{You're right,}" Plagg retorted. "{He _doesn't_ deserve this. He doesn't deserve the ring, he doesn’t deserve my power, and he doesn't deserve to know anything.}"

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Adrien hissed.

"{You don't know what I know!}" Plagg spat. "{You don't see what I see!}"

Adrien rolled his eyes.

"{ **There are things about this that you will never understand!** }" the kwami yelled.

"Try me." Adrien dared.

"{I can't explain it to you.}" Plagg huffed.

"You're an asshole." Adrien scoffed and put his face in his hands.

"{ **I am a god!** }" Plagg said, his voice unnaturally echoing.

Suddenly, the little black cat's body began to shimmer, and splotches of black energy began to spawn in the air around him. The edges of his form began to pulse and spread like an ink blot. The light in the room seemed to go grey, and within seconds, Plagg was a large, shapeless cloud of black nothingness, as if someone had burned a hole in the centre of a sheet of paper. In its centre were two shimmering green spots, that somehow made Adrien's head and eyes and stomach hurt.

" _ **Jesus fucki-**_!" Luka squeaked and managed to squish himself behind Adrien on the couch.

"Don’t worry," Adrien reached up and touched his hands to where Luka's were on his shoulders. "I won't let him hurt you."

"{YOU CANNOT STOP ME!}" Plagg's voice, simultaneously blurry and sharp as a knife. "{ _I AM THE END OF ALL THINGS! I AM **DEATH**! I AM **RUIN**! I AM-_ }"

" _ **You,**_ " Adrien growled. " _Are a pissy little cat that lives in my ring._ "

The green orbs in the ethereal black patch seemed to both narrow and widen in anger at the same time.

" ** _Now get down here,_** " Adrien ordered. " ** _And help my friend._** "

"Dude?" Luka whimpered behind him.

"It's okay." Adrien squeezed his hands in what he hoped was reassurance.

"{This is the being you chose as your replacement?}" Plagg's voice seemed to echo around them and also only exist soundlessly inside his mind. "{He's cowering!}"

"{ _BECAUSE **YOU'RE** SCARING HIM_!}" Adrien burst out in the same language, very much at the end of his tether. "{He doesn't understand anything that's happening!}"

Luka buried his face in the back of Adrien's neck, shaking hands clinging to him as if for dear life.

"{Look at him.}" Plagg hissed. "{He's useless!}"

"{ **Then. Teach. Him.** }"

No response.

"If I mean _anything_ to you, Plagg," Adrien said, switching back to English for Luka's sake. "You will help Luka."

Slowly, in an honestly impressive looking effect, all of the black cloud of void swirled down into one point, that then fluidly reformed into the small cat spirit Adrien had come to know and (arguably) love.

A little more silence.

Plagg floated towards them.

"Fine." the spirit said in English, but then switched back to Mandarin. "{But mark my words, Adrien.}"

Luka peeked out from behind Adrien's head.

"{I won't _ever_ like this.}" the black cat said lowly. "{And I won't _ever_ like _**him**_.}"

There was something unreadable in his very small green eyes as they bored into his very soul.

"{And you will _never_ understand what you have done by taking this path.}" Plagg's little tail flickered.

Adrien said nothing.

Plagg turned to Luka.

"Get out here," he sighed.

Luka slowly emerged from behind Adrien, still shaking, still terrified.

"It's okay," Adrien kept his hands in contact with Luka for as long as physically possible. "I'm right here."

His blue-eyed friend swallowed and looked between him and the little black cat.

"You can do this." Adrien whispered to him. "We can do this."

"We can do this." Luka breathed.

"Lesson One." Plagg began in an exasperated tone. "Powers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive wanted to write plagg doing a Yell for ages and today i finally realised that dream
> 
> see u next week lmao


	9. Chapter 9

Summer was in full swing in Paris. The coffee shop Alya had driven them to was pretty packed with tourists and students on holiday.

Marinette was eager to get her mind off Adrien and Chat and Luka and her mysterious new partner. It was all a mess that she didn't have a plan for, and _wouldn't_ until she had time to think.

They ordered their regulars and sat.

"So, girl," Alya puts her phone down on the table. "Tell me everything that's happened since last time we texted."

"Well," Marinette sipped at her coffee. "My parents left, I moved in with Luka, Chat Noir disappeared, Adrien broke his leg, and then he moved in with us, and now we're here."

"Sorry, babe," Alya spoke after a stunned silence. "That’s… there's a lot to unpack there. Are you okay?"

"No." Marinette huffed. "Poor Adrien is stuck on our couch, Luka's not prepared to live by himself if the shopping is anything to go by, and I'm worried about Chat."

" _Our_ couch, huh," Alya nodded. "So you're finally dating Luka?"

" _That's_ the thing you decided to focus on?!" Marinette squeaked. "Wh-!"

"C'mon, M," Alya interrupted, only to sip at her latte. "You guys have been into each other since the day on the boat. I've seen the way he looks at you."

Marinette had no idea what look she meant.

"And you just told me you moved in?" Alya shook her head condescendingly. "Honey, next you'll say you've had sex just to 'try it out' with each other."

"ALYA!" Marinette barely avoided spitting out her coffee, and lowered her voice to hiss the next few words. "I'm a virgin!"

"Marinette!" Alya replied in a similarly accusatory tone. "This is how these things happen, girl. You'll be able to tell me if Luka's good in bed by the end of the month."

Marinette went red and pouted.

"You can't tell me you're not into him." Alya took another sip of her drink. "I know when you're lying, M."

Even though Marinette hadn't denied it, she refused to agree either.

Maybe she did like Luka. She'd admit she'd thought about it over the years. He was sweet and quiet and creative and something about whatever they did together just seemed so natural. She knew he really cared for her. She cared for him, too.

Of course she had let herself imagine what it might be like to be his. What it might be like to live with him for real, to wake up to him in the mornings and come home to him at night. What it might feel like if Luka kissed her, if he touched her, if they… Marinette stopped herself from thinking about that specific concept any longer.

She'd had plenty of it last night, when her mind continuously and unceremoniously came up with numerous highly suggestive thoughts while she had been sandwiched between him and Adrien.

And Adrien… how did he fit into it?

Marinette had carried a torch for him for years. Almost six now, since she'd met him the same day she'd met Chat Noir, and the superheroes would celebrate their next anniversary in the fall. Adrien was bright and patient and kind and attractive enough to incapacitate.

And she'd spent _many_ a night thinking about the sort of thing she wanted with him.

"I don't hear a nooo~," Alya teased.

The singsong tone brought Marinette back to reality and she realised she didn't want to be thinking about these things right now.

"I don't want to talk about it," Marinette snapped. "Change the subject, please."

Alya looked surprised about that, but she conceded.

"So, you said Chat Noir went missing," her old friend stirred her coffee. "What did you mean?"

"I mean Ladybug's partner Chat Noir disappeared yesterday." Marinette drank from her own mug. "And sent a friend in his place."

"A friend?" Alya leant forward. "Girl… you gotta explain this to me."

"Ugh." Marinette growled. "I don't know anything, okay? I'm out with Adrien and Luka and an akuma shows up in the park, and I run off to get Ladybug, and the next thing I know, Adrien and Chat both manage to break their legs, and there's a man I don't recognize with black and green hair and blue eyes wearing my friend's ring and trying to help fight an akuma!"

Alya dropped the spoon she was stirring with.

"And then it's over, and I make it back to the park, only to find Luka's _missing_ ," Marinette put her face in her hands. "And Adrien's in _hospital_ , and Chat Noir is _gone_."

"But there was a guy wearing his ring?" Alya pressed.

"Yeah, but he's not him!" Marinette retorted. "It was the man _wearing_ the ring that I cared about, Alya."

"Those little… visits, are still going on then, I gather?" Alya raised an eyebrow.

Marinette sighed in exasperation.

"M, M, M," Alya chided. "Those've been going on more than _three years_ now. If not Luka or Adrien, tell me you've at least slept with _him_."

Marinette groaned loudly and moved her coffee to the side so she could flop face down onto the table.

"Right, okay," Alya whispered, and then at full volume, attempted to go in a different direction. "Interesting that you know Chat Noir broke his leg."

Marinette's heartbeat quickened.

"Ladybug told me." she lied.

"Oh, yes," Alya finished the last of her coffee. "Your mysterious ability to contact Ladybug. And how did Ladybug find out?"

"The… new guy told her."

"He doesn't have a name yet?"

"No." Marinette shook her head. "Each person takes a different hero name. Yo- uh, R-Rena Rouge didn't name herself Volpina."

Alya nodded, something in her eyes Marinette couldn't place. But then it seemed her old friend realised something.

"So, Adrien and Chat Noir have both broken their leg."

Marinette bit her lip. She was well aware that that was a fact she couldn't ignore.

"Are you going to tell me I was right now," Alya crossed her arms smugly. "Or shall we make a bet?"

Her coffee date swallowed.

Marinette had long changed her mind about the identity of Chat Noir. At first, she had simply not wanted to know, as the boy had been annoying and bothersome as much as he was useful.

After the first year, she'd grown attached to him. Maybe too attached. She'd gotten curious once or twice, but never enough to break the rules for the answer.

And then Dark Owl. The fear, the _vulnerability_ that she had felt, had been a wakeup call. Had she or Chat Noir opened their eyes, everything would have changed, and it terrified her.

The idea of knowing who her partner was terrified her.

Even if she conceded that the evidence for Adrien and Chat (beyond the suspiciously synchronized identical major injury, of course) being the same man was strong, she would be too afraid to accept it.

The idea was both exhilarating and horrifying.

She pushed it away. She couldn’t - she _wouldn't_ let herself get anywhere close to wondering if it could be true.

"Hmm?" Alya queried.

"What?" Marinette asked.

"A _bet_ , M." Alya rolled her eyes. "You space out so much, girl."

"Sorry." Marinette shook her head. "What do you propose?"

"One hundred euros," Alya wrote out on her notepad. "Says that Adrien is… you know who, and that you and Luka will have done it by the end of the month."

"You can't be serious." Marinette warned. "You cannot _seriously_ be putting money on this."

"I'm confident that I'm right, Marinette." Alya smirked. "Aren't you?"

Marinette was caught. Should she have been taking such a bet? Maybe not. Maybe these weren't things one should take bets on.

However… she _would_ like to prove that Alya wasn't always right.

"Alright." Marinette offered her hand and Alya handed her the pen. "One hundred euros."

"I'll be coming back through town on the 27th," Alya told her. "I think that'll be plenty of time."

And with her signature it was a sealed deal.

===

Marinette approached the apartment door.

"Try this?" came Luka's voice from inside.

"I appreciate it, dude," Adrien replied as she opened the door. "But I really don't think you have anything big enough for me."

"We gotta have something," Luka frowned in the bedroom doorway, holding a t-shirt. "You can't wear those same clothes every day."

Marinette looked over to Adrien, who was on the couch still.

He was shirtless. Marinette immediately turned away with a tell-tale squeak.

"Oh, hey," Adrien said. "Sorry, let me put my shirt back on."

"We're trying to find something else for him to wear." Luka informed her. "But he's two sizes bigger than me."

"You can turn around now, Marinette," Adrien told her.

Marinette, still blushing, turned around and avoided eye contact.

"Uh, I was thinking," she said. "And I think I can get you some stuff from your house."

"But…" Adrien and Luka shared a glance. "Nathalie said we couldn't without father getting angry. I don't want him mad at you."

"Well maybe _I_ can't." Marinette stepped over to lean on the counter. "But I have connections."

Both Adrien and Luka knew she meant Ladybug, and, by extension, them.

"So tonight," she said quietly. "I'm gonna call in my favour and get you some of your things."

"You don't have to," Adrien bit his lip. "I have money. I can buy new stuff."

"…You left your wallet in your room, Adrien." Marinette reminded.

"Shit." Adrien breathed.

"And there's stuff in there that can't be replaced with money, right?" Luka offered. "Your computer files, and your lucky charm and stuff."

"What if father catches-" Adrien caught himself just in time. "Whoever you're sending? What if he-"

"Then we'll deal with it." Marinette said resolutely. "You need your stuff and I'm going to get it for you."

Adrien felt like this was a bad idea. But he knew Marinette couldn't be swayed. She could be incredibly stubborn when she put her mind to things. It was a trait she shared with Ladybug, and one he felt evermore endeared to when he saw it in them.

"If you insist," he sighed. "But promise me you'll be careful?"

He was asking Luka more than Marinette, because he knew she wouldn't be in harm's way.

"Promise." Marinette nodded.

Luka gave an almost-unnoticeable nod.

"Alright, now," Marinette tapped a little beat on the table. "I need to go and check on the bakery, and then later I'm going for a run."

"Are you sure?" Luka asked, concern flashing across his face, but Adrien had no clue why. "You've never tried a run in this part of the city."

"I'm a seasoned runner," Marinette scoffed. "And I know when an obstacle's going to be too hard. Don't worry."

"If you're sure." Luka conceded.

"Okay. I'm gonna start walking." she waved. "I'll be back in a while, okay?"

"Yeah, see you then." Adrien smiled and Luka waved.

As soon as they were sure she'd be out of earshot, they looked to one another.

"She's gonna get Ladybug to break into your house." Luka said.

It wasn't a question. More of a disbelieving statement.

"I'm gonna have to go with her." Luka looked at the floor. "Aren't I?"

"Yeah." Adrien swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Luka shrugged.

"Not your fault." he said. "Anything I should sneak out on the sly?"

"Yeah, uh," Adrien blinked, and looked around for a pen and paper despite knowing there wouldn't be one close by. "I'm gonna have to make you and Ladybug lists."

"Anything I should get that you don’t want to write down?" Luka asked, clearing his throat. "Y'know, anything you… wouldn't want a lady to know you had?"

"Oh!" Adrien went a little red in the face. "No, no, I don't… I don't own anything like that."

"Right, okay." Luka nodded. "Sorry if I…"

"No, no," Adrien shook his head. "You're - you, uh… it's fine, really."

A little bit of awkward chuckling followed.

"You gonna tell him about the important thing?" Plagg piped up from Luka's hoodie.

Luka gave Adrien a questioning look. Adrien was rolling his eyes.

"He means his camembert stash." Adrien sighed. "I'll give you a list with notes."

"I'll get you some paper." Luka walked into the spare room and went digging.

Maybe he didn't have to worry, Adrien thought. Maybe this would go fine after all.

===

Luka and Adrien waited quite a while for Marinette to come home.

It was past nine when she made it in the door.

"Sorry I'm late," Marinette shook her head. "I had to clean my mattress. I left the skylight up and a bird pooped on it."

"Oh no," Luka chuckled. "Did you get the stain out?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I also brought dinner."

"Really?" Adrien perked up.

"Yeah, it's leftovers from Monday," she said. "Lasagne."

Luka's stomach growled. He cleared his throat.

"That sounds great, actually," said Adrien, and he had a feeling he spoke for both of them.

Luka turned off the Mecha Strike game they'd been occupying themselves with. Marinette microwaved the lasagne and plated it. They made small talk as they ate.

"How are your legs?" Luka asked at one point.

"Oh, yeah," Marinette smiled nervously. "They're feeling a lot better, thank you."

An alarm sounded from Marinette's pocket.

"Oh, time to run."

"Run?" Adrien asked.

"I do parkour." Marinette shrugged. "I have to get changed."

"You do parkour?" Adrien blinked.

"Yeah, all the time." she put her empty plate in the sink and headed to the spare room.

"I didn't know that." Adrien muttered, frowning at his own plate. 

"She mostly keeps it quiet." Luka smiled, eyes in the direction she'd gone. "Her parents don't know and they'd get upset if they did."

"I'll say," Adrien took another mouthful. "It's dangerous without a miraculous. Specially with akumas about, and-"

"She's been running for years, man," Luka leant his chin on his hand and poked at his lasagne with his fork, still smiling almost dreamily. "She knows what she's doing."

Adrien pouted.

"What would you do if Marinette got hurt out there, huh?" he asked.

"I'd bring her home and take care of her," Luka's smile disappeared. "Duh."

"Yeah, okay." Adrien shrugged.

"Dude…" Luka peered at him suspiciously. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Adrien sighed. "Don't worry about it."

Luka opened his mouth to say something, but it was at that moment that the spare bedroom door opened as well.

Marinette, wearing a black sport bra with green piping, black and grey bike pants, fingerless gloves and some faded pink trainers, was fixing her twin buns as she walked towards them.

"I'm gonna be a while," she said. "So you guys be good while I'm gone."

"Scout's honor," Luka smiled, knowing full well he was going to literally be breaking the law later. "Be safe, okay?"

"I will." Marinette hugged him and then Adrien. "I made the call, by the way. You'll have your stuff tonight."

Adrien didn't want to let go. What if she got hurt? What if she didn't come back? What if an akuma attacked and he wasn’t there to save her?

But she untangled from him, and from the couch he and Luka watched her go back through the spare room and climb out the window to the fire escape and out of sight.

"I have to meet Ladybug in like ten minutes." Luka mumbled, taking his plate into the kitchen. "Are you going to be alright by yourself?"

"I'm alone all the time." Adrien sighed. "I'll be okay until you get back."

"Okay. Anything to tell me before I go?" Luka went into the room and grabbed his jacket.

"Oh!" Adrien almost slapped himself for forgetting. "There's a special box of camembert behind the Ladybug poster in my closet. Make sure you don't forget it."

Luka nodded and waved and left.

And Adrien stayed alone with his thoughts.

===

Luka missed the ledge by an inch and faceplanted onto the platform of the tower.

Ladybug, who had been waiting nearby, burst into laughter highly reminiscent of Marinette's and stepped toward him to help him up.

"Don’t worry," she told him gently. "You'll get the hang of it."

"Thanks." He said.

There she went, staring at him again.

"So, why'd you ask me to meet you here?"

"Oh!" Ladybug shook her head. "Right, so, we need to go through some things."

Luka nodded.

"I need to show you the patrol route and give you times to meet me for them." Ladybug listed. "Chat will be back soon so I don't think we need you to meet the Guardian, and I know you must have questions, and I want some answers, too, so we'll have to make time for a Q and A at some point."

"That sounds like a lot," Luka said.

"Don't worry, we'll just be going over patrol tonight," Ladybug told him. "And then later I have to do something, so you can join me or head home early."

"I'll join you." Luka took a look at the admittedly impressive view from up here. "We should really try to get used to each other."

"You have a point." Ladybug nodded. "Okay, we'll start by going to our regular meeting building in the 3rd Arrondissement."

She took her yoyo off her hip and readied it to throw.

"Hey, uh," she turned to him, lips pursed and clearly nervous. "Have you seen Chat since he broke his leg?"

"He's my roommate," Luka said. "He moved in after the accident."

"Oh!" Ladybug perked a little at this. "Is… is he doing okay?"

In all honesty, Luka considered, things could be worse.

"I think he'll be alright." he reassured. "I'm gonna make sure he comes back to you."

"Good," Ladybug said, a small smile gracing her face, and loosed her yo-yo. "Follow me."

He watched her soar away, and then took a mighty leap in the same direction.

Luka had never been the active type. Exercise, for him, consisted of moving band equipment and walking to Marinette's - and, unfortunately, the occasional Friday night brawl, even though he generally tried to avoid those.

But here he was, vaulting off chimneys and rolling along balconies, _running_ for the first time since… hell, he didn't know when he'd last sprinted somewhere for the fun of it.

It was kind of exciting.

Ladybug showed him the Meeting roof.

"Patrols are Wednesday nights and Saturday nights." she said. "10 pm all year. If there's a problem, you can call me to let me know what's going on, or ping me and I'll come to your location. If you can't transform for any reason, send Plagg with a message."

Luka nodded.

"If you have something you can't get away from, let me know before, if you can. Chat's had a few parties he couldn't slip out of till late." Ladybug continued. "If you're late, I stay here until 10:15, and by 11 I'll have made it to the Eiffel Tower, so that's the backup meeting point."

"Got it." Luka wished he could write some of this down.

"Usually we stay out for a couple hours, even after we've covered the whole city." she told him, doing something on her yoyo. "It's nice to spend time together outside of attacks. But if you aren't willing to stay up till 2am on a Wednesday, I understand."

"Y'know, I don't think that'll be too much of a problem." Luka smiled, remembering that the studio hadn't called him in a month.

"You already know how to handle akuma appearances?"

"Drop everything, find somewhere to transform and come help as quickly as possible?" Luka checked.

"Yeah, you got it." Ladybug smiled. "Um… before we move on, I know that this is hard."

He cocked his head in questioning.

"This job is hard." she said. "The secrets and the chaos and the danger, it's all really hard. So, if you need to talk to me about it, please do."

"Thank you, Ladybug." Luka smiled.

She gave a little affirmative hum.

"Right, now," Ladybug put her hands on her hips. "I have to go somewhere and do something."

"Alright." Luka crossed his arms.

"But this thing," Ladybug swallowed. "Is illegal."

Luka pursed his lips and nodded.

"Now, I _promise_ ," Ladybug put her hands out in a placating gesture as Marinette often did. "That we don't break the law all the time." 

Luka stifled the smile.

"I'm only doing this because someone important to me needs it," she said.

He briefly wondered if she meant Marinette or Adrien.

"But if you really don't want to get wrapped up in it," Ladybug looked anxious. "Then you should go home now."

"This…" Luka shook his head a bit to get rid of the urge to chuckle. "This wouldn't be my first time committing a crime, Ladybug. I wanna have your back for whatever it is."

Ladybug took a deep breath and nodded.

"Follow me," she said, but no yoyo was loosed this time.

Instead, she ran like he did along the blocks.

If this was what parkour was like, Luka thought as he barrel rolled over a side-street, he might try joining Marinette on her runs.

Finally, they arrived somewhere he hadn't been expecting.

Marinette's house.

"This is the place?"

"No, no," Ladybug went straight for the skylight. "I asked the girl that lives here if I could borrow her bag for our, uh…"

"Heist?" Luka offered.

"Heist," Ladybug snickered, and disappeared down into the room.

Luka looked around at the balcony, and touched the cool metal of the railing. He'd been up here with Marinette a few times. He would play his acoustic and sometimes she would sing along while she sketched.

Designing was her passion, he knew, but she'd been letting that dream simmer down as of late.

Not everyone could be like Gabriel Agreste, she'd said once. But everyone needed to eat. Everyone needed bakeries.

Maybe they could live here together. They could bake together and watch movies together and sit on the balcony together and sleep together. Maybe they'd have Adrien over for dinner sometimes, or Nino.

Luka smiled and followed his unusually strong nose to the roses in the plant box hanging off the railing. He reached out with a clawed finger and brushed one of the petals.

Marinette loved roses. Especially pink ones, but he'd seen her entranced with a red one once or twice. He remembered the day she'd showed him the rose she'd set with resin, after having tested the process on other flowers over and over (he still had a couple of those bluebells by his bed) and finally getting it right.

The look on her face had been so precious, full of pride and satisfaction and excitement.

Yeah, Marinette really loved roses.

And Luka really lov-

"You like roses?" Ladybug asked from behind, startling him.

"Wh- uh," Luka kind of curled in on himself. "They smell nice."

"Right, your new nose." Ladybug smiled warmly. "You'll get used to the smells, don't worry."

She walked toward the edge of the balcony and lobbed the yoyo into the distance. Luka looked back to the skylight and stepped over to close it.

"Oh, whoops," Ladybug chuckled nervously. "Thank you."

"No problem," he let the hatch down and noted the faded wood and twin holes where a latch may once have been screwed in. "I'm sure she wouldn't want the pigeons making a mess in her room."

Ladybug seemed to think about that for a moment, but then she shook her head and nodded in the direction she had thrown the yoyo.

Without another word, the two superheros ran along block after block until they reached their destination.

The Agreste Family Mansion.

"This is the place?" Luka asked.

"This is the place." Ladybug sighed. "You can still back out."

"Nah." Luka rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. "I told you, I'm gonna have your back."

She gave him an unsure smile.

"So, here's the plan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we get some insight into marinette and luka's feelings, as well as some tiny tidbits of worldbuilding like alyas job, ninos place in the social circle, and more about what everybody does with their time.
> 
> i cant belive i was closer to on time with this one


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so uhh yeah warning, kiddos, this is the chapter where things get a little more explicit? from now on, sex-related things will come up more often, so just... know that ok? be safe yall

Adrien lay on the couch in the dark and stewed.

This was never a good thing, he knew.

But with no Plagg to change the course of his mind with a quip or complaint, no Marinette or Luka to interact with to stave off the creeping thoughts, and no way to get anywhere else to distract himself, there wasn't much he could do to resist the urge.

He lay, he waited for his friends to come home, and he stewed.

He thought, at first, of Ladybug. Whether she was thinking about him, if she missed him, and what she thought of Luka, and if they were getting along.

Then he thought about Luka. Whether he was okay, if he was remembering all the things Plagg told him and all the rules that came with being a superhero.

That led him to think about Plagg, and what on Earth the kwami was so up in arms about. Of course, handing the ring to Luka had been breaking several rules, but what else could he have done?

He considered his broken leg. Sure, he could have _not_ run after Marinette, but what assurance did he have that she would come back? That she would be okay? She'd said nothing, she'd just… jumped up and sped off.

There was a huge, dangerous akuma about, of course he was going to go after her.

And finally, his mind landed on Marinette.

She'd been on that run for some time. He was starting to worry. He'd never even known she _did_ parkour, and he felt like that was something he should have known. If not from her own mouth, surely he should have seen her on a run at least once in the last three years, when he got into more of a habit of going out most nights as Chat Noir.

But he hadn't known. How had he not known?

 _Luka_ knew, but Adrien didn't?

For whatever reason, he felt like there was something wrong with that concept.

Marinette was his first friend! His _closest_ friend, beside Nino and Ladybug.

_How had he never known she did parkour?_

Why did Luka get to know and not him?

What else did Luka know about Marinette that he didn't?

…Surely it couldn't be much, right?

Adrien had been friends with Marinette for years, at least as long as he'd been Chat Noir. He figured he'd known her inside and out.

He knew her favourite color was pink, her favourite food was mint ice-cream, and her favourite movie was _You've Got Mail_. 

He knew that Marinette loved fashion, and that she could almost design better than his father could, but definitely defeated him in the crafting department. That she kept her hair up so it wouldn't get caught on anything she was working on.

He knew that she had panic attacks sometimes, same as he did, and that she got clumsy when she was nervous, and often had trouble concentrating.

He knew that Marinette liked to sleep facing the left, but always woke up on her back. That she liked being the little spoon, because it made her feel safe. That she had nightmares that often woke her in the middle of the night, and that, sometimes, she couldn't even bring herself to sleep.

He knew that he made her heart race when he arrived to spend time with her. That she did find his jokes funny, but didn't want to admit it. That she loved his purring. That the only person she touched other than Chat Noir was Alya, and that that had changed when Alya got her journalism apprenticeship and began to travel.

And, now, that had changed again, apparently, since she seemed to touch Luka an awful lot.

Adrien outwardly frowned as he thought about last night, when Luka had held her so protectively, and she had just let him touch her bare leg in that intimate way and listened to his words. She'd even kissed him.

What if Marinette hadn't tried the Shifting Trick so they could get back into the bed with him? Would Luka have just taken her into the spare bed and laid her down and - 

Adrien smacked himself in the face. It stung a little, and made an uncomfortably loud noise in the empty apartment.

Why did he keep thinking about that? He didn't want to think about that!

He didn't want to think about feverish kissing or hands removing clothes or lips on soft skin or fingers curling in black hair or what it would sound like when Marinette moaned into his ear…

Adrien swallowed and felt his skin begin to heat up. He realised that maybe that initial statement had been a lie, or at least most of one.

Maybe he _did_ want to think about that… or, at the very least, about Marinette like that…

He wondered when _that_ had happened.

Sure, he'd dreamt about it often enough, but he dreamt about Ladybug more. He'd also had those dreams about Nino, and Alya, and even Chloe, once (which, even for someone who had died, fallen from Tower Montparnasse, and been thrown six ways from Sunday into cars and buildings for the last five years, had been borderline traumatic).

He'd always been able to believe those were just dreams. Now, at least for the ones about Marinette, he wasn't so sure.

He'd slept beside her before. He'd held her close. He'd kissed her once, at some point, if his memory was reliable this time. They were comfortable, familiar.

And now he wanted to touch her the way she touched Chat Noir, the way both knew was too intimate to be platonic but too disconnected to be anything but. He wanted to make that connection, now.

Adrien would say that he wanted there to be something between them, but based on everything that had ever happened since they'd met, that wasn't going to be a problem.

Instead, he should say he wanted _nothing_ between them; no secrets, no space, and no clothes.

He sat up on the couch and moved, painfully, to lean into the corner for support.

Adrien wanted Marinette to come back now, and not just because he wanted her in his lap. He wanted her back because her presence was soothing, because one look at her would calm his nerves and end this whole mind-wracking affair.

Adrien wanted Marinette, and that was somehow simulataneously a surprise and also the most natural-feeling thought he'd had all night.

Adrien wanted Marinette.

Unfortunately, he had to wait.

===

Luka waited for Ladybug to drop beyond the one open window panel, then leapt to it himself.

"Alright, the defense systems may trigger soon, so we need to be quick." she told him, setting down the duffel bag. "I'll take the bedside table and the computer. Can you round up a bunch of t-shirts and underwear and shorts?"

"Yeah," Luka said, and fell to the carpet and immediately made for the door he thought he remembered being a closet last time he'd been here with Nino.

It was, in fact, a large walk-in closet. Luka saw the Ladybug poster and immediately stepped to it. Behind the poster was a small hole that had been knocked in the wall, in which sat one box of camembert and a terribly difficult to see pair of black and red objects.

Luka tucked the box into his belt and picked them up. They were the costume masks from the music video Adrien and Marinette almost performed in as Ladybug and Chat Noir. They had been made by his father, so it made sense he had been allowed to keep them, but why would he want to?

He left them there and turned to the drawers beside the poster and under the hanger rack with the coats on it. He fished out about thirteen shirts, all the dark ones, since he knew Adrien liked dark shirts. He then found maybe seven pairs of shorts, and stuffed all the underwear that he found amongst the pile.

You could never have too much underwear.

"Boy's got good taste," Luka said, walking the pile of clothing over to the duffle bag, which, oddly, already contained the camembert from the stash he'd been told to get.

He shoved the pile into the bag, moving it around to make sure it all fit.

"He does, doesn't he?" Ladybug replied from the computer, waiting for a download to finish. "Even in food. I love camembert."

"I've never tried it." Luka said, and he meant it.

"Well, your kwami's favourite is camembert," Ladybug pulled out the USB from the computer tower. "So you might wanna try it sometime soon so it won't look weird when you carry it around."

Luka nodded acceptingly. She had a point.

He slipped the box of special camembert into a side pocket while her back was turned. 

Within the moment, she was walking towards him with a small pile of objects in her arms. A USB stick, a scarf, Marinette's Lucky Charm, and Adrien's wallet.

She tucked them into the duffle and zipped the whole thing up.

"Let’s get out of here," she hoisted it up onto her shoulder. "Before the-"

At that moment, a blaring alarm sounded, and a huge metal covering slammed down on the outside of the window.

"Shit," Ladybug scowled. "Use Cataclysm on it!"

Luka nodded and leapt for the window.

" **Cataclysm**!" he yelled, and swiped his palm down the metal security door.

Luka would never forget the chill that ran down his spine as he watched the entire thing disintegrate before his eyes.

But he made the jump to the block across the street and watched Ladybug do the same, holding his arms out to catch her.

"I have to go deliver this to a rendezvous point." Ladybug told him, looking back at the mansion as the sirens continued to blare. "Get home safe, okay?"

Luka nodded and saluted her and sped in the direction of his street.

Ladybug hesitated, then shook her head and began in the direction of the school, where she could then make a turn, unknowingly heading for the exact same place.

===

Luka made it back with seconds to spare. Standing unsteadily in the centre of the floor in his room, he felt the transformation leave him, and reached out to catch Plagg.

Plagg mumbled something unintelligible about camembert and floated around to bury himself in the hood of Luka's jacket.

Adrien bolted upright from where he had laid back down on the couch.

"Luka!" he exclaimed.

Luka walked out fairly slowly and joined him, staring off into the distance.

"How did it go?" Adrien blabbed. "Are you okay? Is Ladybug okay?"

"We set off the alarms," Luka said softly, kind of stunned. "We're okay though."

"Did you get everything?"

"Yeah." Luka swallowed. "Sorry, I'm…"

"It's okay." Adrien told him, seeing the signs. "Take a breather."

Luka closed his eyes and breathed very deeply. He moved, brought both his legs up and crossed them, and sat his hands in his lap.

"What are you doing?" Adrien asked, very quietly.

"Meditating." Luka blushed a little, but he didn’t open his eyes. "I know it's kind of 'out there', but I really need to calm down right now."

"Oh!" Adrien wondered if he should look away.

"You can join me if you want." Luka said, speaking very softly and breathing deeply. "Marinette does sometimes."

"I don’t know how," Adrien admitted.

"Get comfy," Luka murmured. "Breathe deep, and focus on something. A thought or a sound, or a feeling, or a person maybe."

Adrien attempted to cross his one good leg, put his hands in his lap, and breathed deeply. He closed his eyes.

"What's the thing you want to focus on?" came Luka's voice, deep and low and steady. "Don't tell me, just think about it."

Adrien's mind decided on Luka. He was sitting right there and talking and it just seemed like an acceptable choice.

"What does it look like?" Luka asked gently. "What color is it? How big is it?"

 _Black and blue and white, and an XL in shirts_ , Adrien's mind answered.

"If it makes sound, what does it sound like?" came his voice again.

 _Like if a Fall Out Boy song was a person_ , Adrien's mind continued.

"If you can touch it, what does it feel like?" Luka murmured. "Is it smooth or rough? Hot or cold?"

Adrien had to think about that one. Luka wore his big hoodie and cotton t-shirts, and had long hair, and usually shaved. So, he'd be…

 _Soft_. Adrien decided. _And warm_.

"What does the thing smell like?" Luka asked, his voice beginning to become even more rhythmic and soothing than it had been before.

 _Luka smells like metal,_ his mind answered blindingly quickly this time. _Metal and leather and eyeliner, and wood and water._

"If you can taste it," Luka continued. "What does it taste like?"

Adrien's brain seemed divided on its response to this. One half wanted to consider what Luka might taste like, mostly out of curiosity and a desire to complete the little process they'd begun. The other half had immediately requested to opt out of exploring that concept, largely from fear.

He was brought back to the real world by Luka's soft laughter.

Adrien opened his eyes.

"Sorry," Luka managed to get out between chuckles. "Your face went all red and your nose…."

If Adrien could get any more red than he was right now, he would never know.

"Sorry." Luka cleared his throat, which banished the sparse laughter but not the little smile. "I know, that last one can get weird if you're thinking of a person."

Adrien could only hum in agreement.

"But, uh," Luka swallowed. "Did that… did that help?"

"Yeah, it did," Adrien realised. "Until the end."

Luka chuckled again. Adrien had to admit, it was a nice sound.

A small thump followed by an upset squeak of 'ow!' interrupted them.

Marinette froze in the entryway to the hall, one hand rubbing her hip where it had hit the corner and a towel in the other.

"Mari!" Adrien exclaimed. "When did you get back?"

"About two minutes ago?" Marinette turned around to face them, wincing from her sore spot. "But I could see you guys were busy, so I tried to sneak to the shower."

"Your hip okay?" Luka asked.

"It'll be fine," Marinette rubbed it a little harder. "How did your guys evening go?"

"Fine," Adrien replied.

Luka waved his hand in a so-so gesture.

"Good," she sighed. "The run was hard."

"I can see that," Adrien swallowed.

Marinette's hair had come down and there was a scuff on her right arm. Her outfit was damp in places from sweat.

She still looked stunning.

"Go take that shower," Luka smiled. "We should head to bed."

"See you tomorrow morning?" Marinette turned toward the bathroom.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow morning." Adrien nodded.

"The duffle bag is in your room already," she called. "Sweet dreams, guys."

"Sweet dreams, Mari." Adrien smiled. Luka waved beside him.

A few minutes later they were settled into bed, ready to sleep.

Through the unfortunately thin walls, they heard the sound of the shower, and the girl currently taking it.

She was humming the tune of _La Vie En Rose_ , which eventually became soft singing, and the boys listened intently. They followed the sound of her voice out of the bathroom and down the hall and into her room, but she stopped humming as she put something on.

Then all they heard were footsteps as she returned her towel, and shuffling as she got into bed.

"Night, dude." Luka mumbled, shuffling a little himself.

"Night." Adrien breathed.

For the first time in a very long time, Adrien had a smile on his face as he fell asleep.

===

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, and the sigh that slipped from her lips seemed to echo. Her arms had circled his shoulders and her fingers danced in his hair. Her smile as she felt him inside her made him burn. He moved, once, twice, watching the way her eyes fluttered closed.

Her blue eyes were his favourite, the blue only two people in his life shared. He pushed deep and she moaned.

They kissed and he squeezed her close and lost himself to the ecstasy of it all.

A breath of her favourite nickname for him in his ear was all it took for him to come undone for her. He wasn't one to leave her unsatisfied, and this she knew, and thus he sunk to taste her. She was sweet, the same as she always was.

Finally, she cried out in pleasure and he looked up to see her flushed and satisfied face.

Had Ladybug always been Marinette?

===

Adrien snapped awake.

The dream faded too quickly for him to grab onto the question it had asked him.

He wasn't sure why, but he knew that question had been important, and that he desperately needed the answer.

Adrien noted the effect of the rest of the dream straining against his jeans and scowled.

Luka lay next to him, and it was clearly daylight, but he was still snoozing peacefully, rolled to the side so that he was facing Adrien. His two-toned hair was splayed in every direction.

Adrien remembered when Luka re-dyed his hair. After having known him for about two years at the time, he'd gotten used to it being two colors. Everyone had, but Juleka and Luka re-dyed their hair to celebrate Luka's eighteenth, and Luka walked into school with completely blue hair. Marinette had never minded either way, but, personally, Adrien liked how he looked with the black regrowth.

Luka'd had his haircuts stay the same length for the last five years, but he was due for one soon. It was almost shoulder length, now, with the bottom three or four inches still holding some blue dye.

Luka's nose twitched, irritated by some stray strands. Adrien reached out and nudged the offending lock of hair out of Luka's face.

His fingertips brushed against the skin of Luka's cheek. He was right, earlier. It was soft and warm.

Luka yawned, prompting Adrien to whip his hand away with his slightly above-average reflexive speed.

"Mmmmmorning, sunshine," Luka mumbled, rubbing his eyes and then squinting out the window above Adrien. "Oh, god, what time is it?"

"It's two forty-seven," Marinette said from the doorway.

She was leaning, arms crossed, against the frame, and there was the tiniest satisfied smile on her face. Adrien wondered how long she'd been there, and if she saw him touch Luka.

"I need to call the bank," Luka frowned and yawned again.

"And _you_ ," Marinette pointed playfully at Adrien. "Need a wash and a fresh set of clothes."

Adrien really couldn't argue with that. He hadn't had a shower in three days.

Luka clambered out of bed and Adrien dragged himself to the edge. Luka readied himself to pick Adrien up.

"No, no, I got him." Marinette approached them. "Go call the bank."

Luka nodded and headed out to the lounge.

"Choose some clothes." Marinette dropped the duffle beside him. "I gotta grab something from my room."

Adrien dug around in the duffle bag. Ladybug and Luka had done an excellent job.

"Hey," came Marinette's voice from the lounge. "You okay?"

"I can't do it." Luka replied, sounding shaky. "I can't make the call. I know it's stupid…"

"It's not stupid," Marinette soothed. "Maybe we can go in on Monday?"

"I need to do it today." Luka sighed. "I'll just go."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Do you want me to come?"

Luka was silent a moment. They all knew they couldn’t take Adrien anywhere without crutches or a wheelchair.

 _Please don't take her away_ , Adrien begged in his mind. _Please don't leave me here alone again_ …

"I'm pretty sure Adrien needs you more right now," Luka said. "I'll be okay."

"Promise?" Marinette begged.

Was that fear in her voice?

"Promise." Luka replied, very quietly. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

Marinette came back into view, eyes on the front door as it closed. In one hand was a large pair of scissors.

"What are those for?" Adrien swallowed.

"We're gonna have to cut your jeans off." Marinette frowned. "Sorry."

She was right, of course, there was no way to squeeze what remained of the skinny jeans past the big cast. The hospital had already cut off most the left leg so they could get to the injury. There was no saving this denim soldier lost to the war for his health.

"It'll be okay." Adrien made peace with it.

"Alright," Marinette nodded. "Grab the stuff and come to the bathroom."

They staggered down the hall.

"Oh, wow," Adrien cringed a little at the sight of the bathroom.

The bathroom was beige and brown. The white and gold claw-footed combined bathtub-shower monstrosity in the centre had to be at least fifty years old. Hidden in the corner was the toilet. The window above it clearly had not been cleaned in some time. Compared to the rest of the apartment, it was like stepping into a different decade. A different, dustier and deeply unsettling decade.

"It's terrible, isn't it." Marinette shook her head. "Ok, we're gonna sit you on the edge and get these jeans off."

She put the scissors from her free hand on the sink, and Adrien followed suit with his pile of clothes.

Once he was down, Adrien took off his shirt.

Marinette immediately swivelled to face the wall, looking quite tense.

This confused him. Did she not want to look at him? She didn't have a problem looking at him any other time... Was she scared? Surely she knew he couldn't hurt her, especially with his leg, and more importantly, that he _wouldn't_. He would never hurt Marinette.

What was she doing facing the wall?

"Marinette?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Uh," she reached over to the sink, hand flapping haphazardly before it found the smooth but horribly colored surface. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Adrien leant forward. "You keep looking away. Is something wrong?"

"Oh!" Marinette exclaimed, but then her voice got quiet. "No, I just… don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"What?" Now Adrien was even more confused.

"You probably don't want me to see you naked," Marinette shrugged. "And that's okay!"

He was completely floored by this.

"I won't invade your privacy, Adrien." she said.

No-one had ever done this, and Adrien knew that that fact was kind of fucked up, but what was more fucked up was that he'd been used to it.

He'd never _liked_ it, of course, but he'd just… laid down and accepted it. He'd gotten complacent.

Now, Marinette was treating him like his privacy mattered, like what _he wanted_ mattered, and it was simultaneously completely foreign to him and everything he wanted and needed.

"Mari," he said after who knows how long. "You're allowed to look at me."

She didn't turn, exactly, but her head moved and he could tell she was listening.

"You can look at me, Marinette," he repeated, reassuring. "You have my… my, uh, permission?"

"Consent," Marinette whispered.

"That, you have that," Adrien smiled. "You don't have to be afraid. You can look."

Slowly, Marinette turned. She was still nervous, biting her lip and pink in the cheeks, but she turned, and that was a start.

Adrien held out his hand. Marinette, visibly confused, took it. He pulled her close.

"You're allowed to look at me, Marinette," Adrien looked up at her with a soft smile. "And… you're allowed to touch me."

He guided her hand to his bare shoulder, the same way he had many years ago at a party thrown by Chloe. He remembered that dance fondly.

Adrien seemed to notice for the first time just how much smaller her hands were than his. They were pale and delicate and barely more than half the size. They were also quite soft.

He looked at her. She looked back, and there was a hesitant fondness in her eyes.

Marinette was wonderful.

"Alright," she took a shaky breath. "Let's get you out of those jeans."

She paused as she reached for the large scissors, realising what it was she had said.

"WAIT," she squeaked. "I DIDN'T MEAN-"

"Marinette," Adrien laughed. "It's okay! I know what you meant."

"Sorry." Marinette put her hands to her face and groaned.

"Relax, Mari," his response was to gently pull her into a hug, nuzzling into her stomach. "It's okay."

She gave a little giggle and an affirmative hum and tapped his arm twice. He let go, and she got on her knees on the outside of his left leg.

Using the heavy scissors, she cut near the seam, and went a little ways up before asking.

"Are you wearing briefs or boxers?"

Adrien blinked in response.

Marinette went red and put her face in her free hand.

"I don't wanna cut your underwear." she gulped. "So tell me what style you're wearing so I can avoid it?"

"Boxer briefs." he said, an awkward smile joining the blush in blooming on his face. 

"Oh!" Marinette nodded, re-entering work mode. "Got it. Sorry."

She cut a little further and then slipped her fingers under the denim to feel for the hem of the underwear. Adrien felt the immediate physical response and tried not to let it show.

Marinette chewed the inside of her cheek, frowning as she made a few more cuts. She pushed her hand further along his thigh, and her face perked slightly as she found them. Positioning her fingers so they were splayed across the softer underwear fabric, guarding it from the blades of her tool, she cut the rest of the way, past the pocket.

"You're… gonna have to take off your belt," she said, using the tips of the closed scissors to nervously scritch at a spot on her cheek.

Adrien complied and removed the black leather belt, dropping it on the floor by the sink.

"Oh, a Chat Noir belt?" Marinette asked, inspecting the belt buckle before turning back to the scissors. "You a fan, too?"

"Actually, I like Ladybug more." Adrien smiled, and for some reason, Marinette's face went redder, even as she focused.

"Ladybug's cool," Marinette nodded, her hand shifting every few seconds on his thigh wreaking havoc in his groin. "But, honestly? She'd never be where she is now without Chat."

With a few final snips, the jeans were entirely freed from Adrien's left leg, and thus from his whole body. Hoping the boner wasn't as noticeable as it felt, he pulled the jeans down and away and dumped them with his shirt and belt.

"Uh, how do you like your bath water?" Marinette asked, putting the scissors back on the sink and heading for the tap.

"Warm, please." he sighed. He would rather a shower, but he supposed he couldn't exactly ask Marinette to hold him up.

The sound of the running tap made him a little more comfortable. It was a sound he recognized in an unfamiliar bathroom. He wrangled off his underwear while Marinette was out of view and repositioned himself so that she wouldn't see his dick.

"Ok, so we've gotta keep the cast out of the water, so hook your left leg over the side and…" Marinette moved over to the sink again.

Adrien scooted awkwardly down to where the wall of the bathtub was lower, and dropped backwards as slowly and as unrevealingly as possible. The water was warm and deep and it was unexpectedly refreshing.

He dunked his head under.

When he came up again, Marinette asked him if he wanted her to stay and talk or leave him.

"Stay and talk?" he asked.

"You sure you don't want some, uh…" Marinette cleared her throat. "Alone time?"

"You saw that?" Adrien cringed. "Sorry…"

"Don't worry," she walked over and sat on the edge of the tub. "I know you can't really control them."

"Still." he moved his arms in the water to cover it from view and blushed. "Sorry."

"Relax." Marinette shook her head and smiled. "It's no big deal, honest. Even Chat gets them when he visits sometimes."

"How can you tell?" Adrien managed to make the question not sound panicked.

He'd admit, sometimes Marinette did hit a particular spot during pets that turned him on. The suit prevented his body from visibly reacting, but he certainly felt it. He'd hoped she'd never noticed… he didn't want her to get the wrong idea.

For a moment he wondered what the wrong idea _was_ , and if it could now be called the right idea, but quickly shook away the thoughts as Marinette started speaking.

"Well," she took a breath. "His hips wiggle, like they're uncomfortable, even though he isn't. And if I can hear his heart, it's going too fast, and his breathing is heavier. His tail starts to curl around my thigh, but uh… that just happens all the time."

It was true, it did do that. He never knew why.

"And…" she sighed, her smile fading. "He leaves early."

"You seem sad about that," Adrien said.

"Yeah, I mean," she shrugged a little. "He doesn't have to go. I want him to stay longer! Or, y'know, as long as he wants. I don't care, you know? I'm not uncomfortable or grossed out... I mean, it's probably more of a compliment than anything, really, but…"

She sighed a little sigh and Adrien had never felt more endeared to such a simple thing as a noise before.

"I guess I never told him it was okay because I know he doesn't mean anything by it."

"What do you mean by that?" Adrien frowned.

"Chat's not interested in me." Marinette shrugged again, but she still looked just the slightest bit disappointed. "Even if I told him I wanted him to…"

 _To what? To what? To what???_ Adrien asked silently.

"Sorry, maybe that's too much information," She cleared her throat. "No, I know Chat's not into me, and that's okay!"

Adrien wondered if he should say something.

He didn't get the chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the eyes updates?? on time??? its more likely than you think!
> 
> jdkhffjvf adrien bb, you have no idea whats going to happen to you do you


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi kids this chapter has some different sensitive content than usual: in this chapter there is alcohol, implied instances of sexual assault, implicit physical violence, minor injuy, and police involvement. if any of these topics might upset you, click away or take a bit to prepare urself before you read. i want you to be safe!

"Hey, I'm home," Luka peeked his head in the bathroom door.

"How did it go?" Marinette asked.

"All sorted." Luka sighed in relief.

"Great," a warm smile split across her face.

"I am going out for tonight." Luka told them. "So try not to burn the place down while I'm gone, okay?"

Adrien chuckled, but Marinette bit her lip. She stood and left the bathroom, and Luka followed, looking confused. She probably wanted privacy to speak to him. Unfortunately, this apartment was pretty shoddy, and Adrien could still hear everything.

"Are you sure you want to go out tonight?" she asked.

"I've had a pretty freaky week." Luka replied. "I think I could use a drink or two."

"Yeah," Marinette conceded. "But…"

Silence. Adrien wondered what was happening, how they were looking at one another.

"Just…" finally she sighed. "You have my number, and you'll call me if anything-"

"Yes, yeah," Luka reassured her. "I promise."

"Can you help Adrien get dressed?" Marinette whispered. "I can't be sure I won't start staring or something and I don't want him to be uncomfortable."

"Yeah," Luka chuckled. "You know you can go to the spare bed if you need some alone ti-"

A soft thump that was probably her bapping him on the arm, muffled by the hoodie sleeve, followed by some shared chuckles.

"And I'm sure you'd prefer it if I used _your_ bed instead, huh?" she quipped.

More silence.

"Was that…" Luka replied, sounding playful. "Was that flirting?"

Some soft pap noises, likely Marinette hiding her face in her hands.

"Aw, no," Luka said, and Adrien could hear the smile. "C'mon, Marinette, you were doing great that time!"

" _Dooon't_ ," she whined. "I suck at it!"

"You'll get it one day." Luka chuckled. "I'm gonna go see if Adrien's done yet."

Some footsteps, and then a pause, and then Luka's voice again.

"And you know I'd _love_ it if you used my bed for that."

And Luka appeared in the bathroom and closed the door without looking back. He then leant against it, the silliest smile splitting across his face. He even made a barely audible noise as he put his face in his hands.

"You, uh," Adrien asked from the tub. "You okay there?"

"Oh!" Luka started a little. "Yeah… uh, I don't know what it is, but I can't flirt with Marinette for long without feeling like a fucking teenager again."

"You like her that much huh?" Adrien grinned.

Luka had no response to this, except to go slightly red in the face.

"Sorry, I shouldn't tease," Adrien smiled. "Help me get up onto the side?"

Luka walked over and offered both his arms. After a few seconds of effort, Adrien was sitting on the edge of the tub again, pretty soaked.

He shook his head rapidly as per his instinct, flinging water in every direction. Luka made a little noise of protest and held his arms up to shield himself, but he smiled anyway. Adrien's head felt a little light from the rapid movement.

Luka handed him a towel, from the rack behind the bathtub. Adrien scrubbed himself thoroughly. His hair poofed out and then settled. He made a note to buy some shampoo.

Or, rather, ask Marinette to get some the next time they went shopping, since he couldn't very well buy any himself.

Adrien frowned at his cast. Uselessness was not a feeling that was foreign to him.

That didn't make it hurt any less.

"Dude," Luka beckoned. He was holding out Adrien's clothes.

"Thanks," Adrien took them and handed over the towel.

For some reason, Luka's face was bright red and he avoided eye contact as he returned the towel to the rack.

Adrien wrangled his shirt on, one of his older ones, with the three colored stripes, like he used to wear in collège. Next was his underwear, and the pair of denim shorts he'd chosen.

Luka walked over and pulled the plug out of the bathtub. His face still seemed warm.

"Couch?" Luka asked, eyes on the floor.

"Yeah, it's too early for bed." Adrien replied.

And together they made their way out of the bathroom and into the lounge.

===

Luka was just the slightest bit conflicted.

On the one hand, he really shouldn't have checked Adrien out in the bathroom like that. It wasn't okay to ogle people.

On the other, the result had been highly… should he say intriguing? Satisfactory? Arousing?

He shook his head as he approached the front door. He shouldn't think about it. It had been a silly and possibly wrong thing to do, and he should just forget about it.

Luka realised, as he looked back to say goodbye and wave to his roommates before leaving, and saw Adrien's bright green eyes and soft hair and sweet smile, that the idea of Adrien wasn't going to leave his mind alone.

And it didn't. His thoughts of his long-time friend tugged at his attention for the whole walk to the bar he frequented, the whole time he was I.D.-ed, the whole walk through the entry hallways, and finally into the main room.

They subsided as he searched for anyone he knew in the crowd.

He spotted Nino in the distance, at a booth, and relief flooded him. He made his way over to the bar, ordered something strong, and joined his friend.

"Luka!" Nino grinned.

"Hey, man," Luka took a sip of his drink. "How are you?"

It tasted awful, but he was going to drink it all anyway.

"The worst thing that happened to me this week," Nino replied. "Alya came through town."

"Oh, yeah," Luka frowned sympathetically. "Marinette had coffee with her…"

Luka thought for a moment. The past few days had been a blur, hadn't they? And they were going to be more of one by the time he got to the bottom of the glass.

"Yesterday," Luka snapped his fingers. "I'm sorry she didn't hit you up, man."

"I'll live," Nino took a swig out of his own cup. "How have you been since the move?"

"You don't wanna know." Luka shook his head.

"Bad?" Nino raised an eyebrow.

"Some bad, some good," Luka considered. "But all of it fucking crazy."

"Tell me." Nino said.

"Are you sure?" Luka checked. "I'm talking some wild shit here."

"Please," Nino sipped at his drink. "Anything to get my mind off this week."

So Luka told him.

He told him about the day Marinette moved in, the shopping and Chat Noir. About the next day, when Adrien showed up out of the blue. Luka, of course, left out the superhero stuff, but he did tell Nino about Marinette running off and Adrien's accident, him 'losing' his phone and getting to sleep beside both of them. How he'd talked to Marinette, found out she'd carried Adrien home and gotten closer to her.

How Adrien had moved in, the tale of how (with omissions, of course) Luka had broken into the Agreste Mansion to loot Adrien's stuff for him, and how Adrien had only just gotten to take a shower, and how Marinette had tried to flirt with him and that he wasn't sure if it was jokingly, and finally, how he'd accidentally let himself check Adrien out.

By this point, both boys were several drinks in.

"You…" Nino peered at him, probably not able to focus well. "You checked Adrien out?"

"I didn't mmmean to." Luka swallowed another mouthful of what may have been vodka, or something with vodka in it. "But, god, he was gorgeous…"

"Well, yeah, everybody knows that," Nino replied, leaning forward unsteadily. "If looks could kill Adrien would have made humanity extinct by now."

Luka laughed, but then he took a deep breath, his mood switching to inebriated shock and awe.

"Dude, I saw Adrien's dick." Luka put a hand to his forehead. "I saw Adrien's _dick_ today, and I don't know how to feel about it."

"Bro, two questions." Nino knocked back the rest of his cup in one go. "How big was it. And how big was it."

"Seven, easy." Luka was beginning to feel the burning in his chest. "Kinda on the skinny side, though."

Nino was clearly impressed by this.

"I've seen him naked _once_ , by accident." Nino shook his head and held up a finger for emphasis. "I never got a clear look, but now I know."

"I'm not even jealous," Luka said, and he meant it. "I'm not _even_ jealous, I kinda just want him to fuck me."

"Oh, man," Nino grinned unevenly. "Welcome to the club. Mari's making t-shirts."

Luka and Nino laughed, a little unsure of the tangibility of the concept just jokingly put forth, and a lot drunk.

"You said Marinette and you moved in together though." Nino squinted. "What's happening there?"

"Unfortunately, nothing." Luka pouted and finished his drink.

"Nothing?" Nino repeated.

"No, I mean, like," Luka shifted in his seat. " _Something's_ happening, I think? We held hands, we've cuddled, and we flirted once."

"But no answers?" Nino gestured.

"I think it's cause Adrien's there," Luka frowned. "We're kinda nervous to make moves."

"Oh, yeah, I feel that." Nino nodded. "I'm gonna go get us more drinks, I'll be right back."

Nino got up and stumbled towards the bar. Luka pulled out his phone and waited a moment for his eyes to come into focus. There was a text from Marinette.

**{get home safe ok)**

"Whoa, Luka?" came a voice.

Luka looked up, and it was a rather sluggish attempt, but he made it without puking.

Kim stood at his table, standing with a man he didn't know.

"Oh my god!" Luka grinned. "Kim, dude, how you been?"

"Yeah not bad, not bad," Kim scooted into the booth, followed by who must have been a buddy of his.

"How's Max?" Luka asked.

"Yeah, he's great," Kim sighed happily. "He's been working real hard, so he's home with Newton tonight."

"You're not out with Alix?" Luka was handed a drink by the returning Nino.

"No, she's out winning trophies nowadays." Kim said, taking a sip of his own, which, despite the late hour, looked like it was his first. "She's at the top of her game right now."

"That's great." Nino smiled. "So you ended up with Max after all?"

"He's my husband and I love him." Kim said with a resolute nod, like that was some immutable fact of nature.

And, knowing those two, it may as well have been, decided Luka.

"What about you guys?" Kim gestured. "Got partners?"

Luka and Nino experienced matching moments of despair and discomfort.

"Luka's trying to get with Marinette!" Nino immediately turned on him, hoping to avoid questions about Alya.

"Marinette?" Kim raised an eyebrow. "Like, 'Marinette Dupain-Cheng' Marinette?"

"How many Marinettes do we know?" Nino questioned.

"Marinette?" Kim peered. " _My_ cousin Marinette?"

Luka sighed and pulled up the gallery of Marinette on his phone. It went quite a few years back, and had all sorts of selfies, group photos, mementos from hangouts, videos, and even some photos he kept securely behind a pin.

He pulled up a safe one, a silly pair selfie taken a few months ago. Marinette was grinning and he'd stuck his tongue out.

"This Marinette!" Luka shoved the phone in Kim's direction.

Kim regarded the phone with a suspicious expression. His friend leaned in to check out the photo.

"What exactly are your intentions with my cousin?" Kim leant forward a little.

"They're living together!" Nino accused dramatically.

"Nino!" Luka complained.

"Are you dating her?" Kim interrogated.

"No…" Luka replied. 

"So she's free?" Kim's companion took a swig out of his glass.

This question immediately put the other three men at the table on edge. All their eyes turned on him.

"Free?"

Luka wasn't sure if it was his voice or Nino's.

The music was loud and pounding in his ears, the lights were hurting his eyes, and his nose was full of the smell of alcohol. If he'd been sober, it would have been enough to make him panic and leave.

But he wasn't sober. He was drunk, and feeling highly territorial. This man he didn't know had expressed interest in Marinette, and that made him a threat to her.

Luka had been around bars long enough to know every man was a threat until proven otherwise.

"No, you're right," the stranger said, laughing as if he hadn't just landed himself on the shit-list of every person at the table.

The following words were even worse.

"With a face like that, she'd probably be a thousand an hour."

That was the moment everything went south, Luka decided later.

Of course, there were a few preceding factors that definitely helped everything on its way down, like the alcohol, and the shitty week he'd had, and, of course, Luka's personal history with situations such as this, but the point remained:

That was the moment everything went south.

===

Marinette forgot to set her phone to vibrate as she headed to bed that night, a fact she discovered at 2:14 AM, when it began to ring.

_We only want to sing you to sleep_  
_In your bedroom speakers, whoa_  
_We need umbrellas on the inside_  
_Get us right!_

She pawed at the floor to pick it up.

In the next room, Adrien was rudely awoken by the music. His mind cleared up enough to hear Marinette's voice, but not what she was saying.

Until she got louder.

"WHAT?!" came a piercing shriek that made him flinch.

Adrien suddenly got very concerned.

"How much is bail?" Marinette's voice got lower, steadier.

Even more worrying. Adrien sat up.

" _How much is bail, Luka_?" she repeated, quieter this time, but no less intimidating.

Silence.

"H-How much?" that time her voice was weak.

Adrien wasn’t quite sure what was happening, but he knew it wasn't good.

"Okay, I'm coming." Marinette seemed to hang up.

He heard her shuffling, taking hurried footsteps, and realised she was going to leave.

"Mari?" he called.

Marinette appeared in the doorway, clearly distressed. Adrien beckoned her close and she came over. She was hesitant and tense and he put his hand to her arm.

"Hey," he whispered, wanting to help. "What's happened?"

"Luka got arrested again," she replied, voice breaking.

"Arrested?" Adrien was incredibly confused by this. He'd never heard that Luka had been arrested before.

"Sometimes he gets into bar fights," Marinette breathed. "He's… he's always sensitive to things, it's just that the alcohol… makes him lash out."

Adrien didn't know what to think or say or do.

Marinette took out her phone and opened her bank app. When it got to the password screen, he realised her fingers were shaking.

"Marinette?"

She looked at him. She looked like she had on the first day he'd seen her in this room. Tired and messy. She had her hair down, was wearing a shirt that was far too big and jeans that she appeared to have just thrown on.

It became clear, right then, to Adrien, that things were really taking a toll on her.

On all of them.

"I gotta take money out of my savings, but I don’t remember my password." she whimpered, tears welling in her eyes. She locked her phone and put her face in her hands. "I'll have to stop at an ATM…"

"No way," Adrien told her. "I'll pay."

He reached over to the side table and grabbed his wallet.

"Adrien, I can't let you pay for this!" Marinette shook her head, horrified.

"Please, Marinette, I'm a billionaire," Adrien pleaded. "It's not gonna matter!"

Her shoulders fell, and with a miserable expression, she took the wallet and put it in her pocket.

Then she hugged him.

She was still shaking.

"Thank you, Adrien." she sniffed. "I've gotta go get Luka. Will you be alright by yourself?"

"Go," Adrien gave her a gentle squeeze. "Bring him home."

Marinette kissed his cheek and let go and walked out.

His fingers lingered on the spot for a good minute, until a thought struck him.

Was Marinette wearing one of his shirts?

===

Luka had sobered up, and he far from wished he was still drunk, but he really wanted _something_ to help cope with where Drunk Luka had left him.

He paced back and forth along the bars, rubbing the spot where Adrien's ring should be with a bitter and self-harming intensity.

He could be forgiven for wasting his paycheck on alcohol. He could be forgiven for starting a fight. He could be forgiven for putting the guy in an ambulance.

But no-one would forgive him if he lost that ring.

He'd had the good sense not to threaten the cop taking his personal effects when they'd taken it, but he'd needed good sense way before that point.

He should have just stayed home, and watched movies curled up with Marinette on the couch, and then got into bed with Adrien and ignored the urge to cuddle him, too, like he did every night.

But, no. Luka had decided to go out. And now he'd had one of the most valuable items on the planet taken away from him, and if he didn't get it back, it would be a disaster.

He hoped Plagg wouldn't kill him, but he knew he probably deserved it.

Luka stuck his hand out as he paced, and ran his fingers along the bars, but stopped pretty much immediately as the sound was almost spine-rotting to him.

He rubbed at his finger again, trying to take out all the anger and frustration and fear onto it.

He wished he had a guitar, or a clear enough mind that he could think of some remedial lyrics, but he didn't. Even if he did, the cops would complain about the noise, and he couldn't get in more trouble.

"Couffaine?" came a voice.

Luka turned and saw a cop standing with a short woman.

His anger and frustration were immediately replaced with guilt and shame, which was, at least, a change. The fear, however, stayed the same.

Marinette didn't look impressed. She was wearing her Adrien Shirt, which was so big it was more like a dress, and made him feel just the slightest bit disowned, but he probably deserved that, too.

"C'mon, you're getting released." the cop said.

Luka was walked over to the personal effects pickup. The tray with his wallet, phone, keys, bracelets, earrings and rings in it was handed to him.

By the time he'd collected all his belongings, he was well aware that Adrien's ring wasn't in there with them.

"Where's my ring?" he demanded of the officer behind the counter.

"What ring?" the officer replied in annoyance.

"You know exactly what ring I'm talking about, asshole." Luka spat. "Where’s my _fucking_ ring?"

"Look, kid, if it's not there, it's not my problem." the cop rolled his eyes.

Luka grabbed the officer's shirt and dragged him close. He looked terrified, and even though Luka wasn't likely to hurt him sober, he was currently sporting a black eye, bloody knuckles and a cut on his forehead, and that was enough to intimidate.

"You don't think I know you take shit?" Luka hissed. "I don't care if you took every cent out of my wallet. _Give me back the ring_."

"Luka!" Marinette yelled from her place at the end of the hallway.

Luka's fear of Marinette was indeed strong, stronger than most things on Earth, but he needed the ring. If he could get it back before she made it to him, he might make it out alive.

" _Give it back_ ," Luka whispered warningly. " _It's not even mine, I **need** it back_!"

Marinette's footsteps were getting closer.

" _ **Listen, asshole**_ ," Luka began to panic. " _ **If I don't have that ring, this whole fucking city's in trouble!**_ "

The cop looked him up and down, fearful revulsion on his face.

"Jesus, take it," The cop dropped the ring from out of his pocket on the bench.

Luka let go of his shirt to snatch it up and held it tightly, close to his chest.

"Crazy asshole…" the officer muttered, inspecting his shirt.

Luka flipped him off.

" _Luka Couffaine_!" Marinette hissed, appearing by his side.

With no more reason to defend himself, Luka crumbled under her angry stare.

He followed her out of the facility, clinging to the ring for dear life.

===

Marinette didn't speak to him in the taxi.

She didn’t speak to him on the way up the stairs.

She didn't say anything until they got into the apartment, and even then, Luka wondered if she'd have spoken at all to him ever again if he hadn't said something first.

"You're mad at me." he said.

It stopped her in her tracks, in front of the couch.

She'd been mad at him before. He hated it, because he knew she wasn't the type to let it out. She was the type who bottled. He didn't want her to be angry, to be hurt.

And he knew, it was his fault. He'd fucked up. So he was going to try to fix it.

"Yes." she said quietly.

Marinette wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were on the window, the moonlight flooding the room blue.

"I'm sorry." Luka swallowed.

He meant it, but he could understand if she didn't believe it. This time may have been different than the last, but Marinette didn't know that. 

Marinette dropped her jeans and picked them up and threw them, violently, into the floor of the spare room, making Luka flinch.

"You told me you wouldn't do this again!" she turned on him, voice shrill and uneven, finger pointing accusingly.

Her face was a picture of distress and desperation and disappointment.

"I didn’t exactly plan to…" he shrunk a little.

"I know!" she put her hands to her head and closed her eyes tight. "I know you didn't, I know…"

They were both well versed in this song and dance. It had started two years ago, once he got brave enough to start going out and participating in 'bar culture'. She'd been there for him every time he'd gotten too drunk and did something stupid, and he apologized every time, and things went back to normal.

It'd all gotten worse when he started to get into the more… romantic departments of bar culture. Marinette wasn't the jealous type, that wasn't it - it was everyone else.

People who Luka weren't interested in that came on too strong, people who he did find interesting that didn't see his approach as friendly, and people like tonight's guy. It wasn't every week, but maybe once a month, something would go wrong that would end up with Luka defending himself in a street brawl.

Bar culture was like an asshole best friend for Luka. Someone who had taught him a lot, but also often fucked him over.

And Marinette? Marinette was the real best friend, the one who always came to save him and didn't breathe down his neck about changing it, even if she should have.

Marinette gave a sigh.

"You shouldn't have punched him." she looked at him.

"You didn't hear what he said." Luka almost got mad again thinking about it.

"I don’t have to!" she hissed. "You know how many times I wanted to punch Chloe for something she said or did?"

Luka had forgotten about Chloe, which was both a good and a bad thing.

"But I couldn’t!" Marinette frowned. "Because I couldn't afford to get in trouble!"

She took a few steps in a circle, took a glance into his room, probably to check on Adrien, and looked back to him.

"Even today, if I saw her in the street, I couldn’t say or do anything I wanted to to her," Marinette continued frustratedly. "Because this time, the punishment isn't detention. It's jail, and I can't go to jail."

Luka knew that Marinette, despite being the sweetest and most caring girl he knew, would probably rule the jail's social hierarchy after the first day.

"Because there are things I have to do," Marinette crossed her arms, her voice coming back down to normal volume. "People I have to take care of. I can't let them down."

Her eyes darted to the room and back to him. She sighed and stepped close.

"I know you have a fighting spirit, Luka," Marinette told him. "But there are worse villains out there than some idiot at a bar."

Luka considered the ring he still had clutched in his fist. He hadn't dared put it on in Marinette's presence lest Plagg rip into him without checking if the coast was clear to do so.

"Like Papillon?" he muttered, the weight of it all still fresh in his mind.

"Like Papillon." Marinette nodded, a smile fading into existence at the edges of her mouth.

"And Chloe?" Luka dared, hoping to bring a real smile to her face.

"And Chlo-" Marinette stopped mid word and pouted. "Don’t make me laugh, I'm mad at you!"

She booped his nose firmly, which hurt, because he'd been punched there. He made a very small 'ow' in response.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry," Marinette switched to worried.

"It's okay." Luka cringed, rubbing his nose with a thumb and forefinger. "I probably deserve it."

She sighed again, and looked up at him for a while.

"Promise me," she put her hands on his arms. "Promise me you won't do this again?"

"I promise." Luka said, slipping the ring into the pocket of his jacket in case a hug was coming.

"Do you mean it?" Marinette asked, unsure.

"Tonight, I promised I'd call you if something went wrong," Luka told her. "And I did."

She looked into his eyes, still needing convincing.

"I mean it, Marinette." he said, swallowing. "I promise."

Marinette hugged him tight, and he hugged back. He loved the feeling of holding her close.

"I'll save my fights," he told her. "Next time an akuma shows up, I'll punch him instead."

"If you try to fight an akuma on your own," Marinette pulled back so she could see his face. "I'll kick your ass. No, wait, I'll kick the akuma's ass, and _then_ yours."

Luka chuckled and smiled down at her.

"Am I forgiven?" he asked quietly.

Marinette smiled and rolled her eyes and sighed and nodded. She gave him a squeeze and frowned at his face.

"Let’s get you cleaned up," she whispered and let go. "And go back to bed."

 _Your bed or mine? Your bed or mine??_ Luka's brain begged as he watched Marinette walking down the hallway, but he banished the thoughts.

It was not the right time.

"Sit," she pointed to the couch, reappearing with a wet cloth.

Luka sat himself on the lounge, and looked up to her.

Marinette frowned as she considered where to sit. After a few moments, she made a little huff and straddled his right leg, scooting right up to his face.

She wiped the cloth gently across his black eye, then moved to the cut on his forehead. There was a little blood that stained the towel. Then she gave his hand a once over with it to remove the blood and broken skin from his knuckles.

The water in the cloth stung them a little, and he winced.

"Sorry," Marinette whispered. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Luka whispered back.

Marinette laid the cloth over her leg and put a hand to his cheek. After a few moments, she leant forward and pressed her lips, ever-so-lightly, against his bruised eye. Luka's heart sped into overdrive.

Her hands tugged his head down, and she moved one to free her fingers to brush his bangs out of the way so she could kiss the cut, too.

Luka stared at her in awe as she held his hand with her own and kissed his knuckles. Marinette was practically in his lap, and giving him kisses, and he felt like the luckiest man alive and as if he didn't even deserve to look at her all at the same time.

And then she looked back to his face, and, dear god, he was in love with her. He'd always been afraid to say it out loud, but it was never something he denied:

Luka was in love with Marinette. He had been for years, now.

Her thumb stroked his cheek, and a small smile crossed her lips.

And she leaned forward, just the slightest amount, and pressed them to his.

Something like warmth spread through Luka's chest as they kissed, softly and briefly. His hands came to rest on her waist, but he held back from pulling her closer.

He got three more kisses. Three tender, heavenly kisses.

"We should go back to sleep." she whispered.

Luka nodded, borderline breathless.

She got up and jogged over to her jeans and fished in the pocket. She handed Luka Adrien's wallet.

"And you should say thank you to Adrien." she whispered.

Luka nodded again.

Marinette gave him another quick hug and another quick kiss, but this time to his forehead. And then, with a little pleased hum that made his heart skip quite a few beats, she broke away.

"Goodnight, Luka." she murmured at the door.

"Night, Ma-Ma-Marinette." Luka waved.

She closed the door, and he heard her flop onto the mattress.

Luka walked into his own room and shed his jeans and jacket, making sure the ring was still there. He would put it back on tomorrow if there was no akuma overnight.

When he looked, Adrien was sitting up in the bed.

A brief uncomfortable silence passed. The shame and guilt and fear of earlier crept back to Luka.

Adrien was burning, but not with anger. He didn't want to admit it, but it was jealousy. Watching Marinette and Luka kiss had made his gut churn and his blood boil, but he didn't dare interrupt.

He felt confused and dejected and upset, but that wasn't important. There was more at stake here than his feelings.

He needed to work _with_ Luka, for the sake of the city.

And that meant he couldn’t let himself be angry at him.

"You okay?" Adrien asked, swallowing some air and whatever pride he had left.

"I am now," Luka sighed.

He held out Adrien's wallet.

"I'm sorry I fucked up." Luka told him. "Thank you for helping me out."

"It's no problem." Adrien took the wallet and put it on the bedside table. "Just… keep your promise to Mari."

Luka seemed just the tiniest bit surprised by this.

"You _are_ gonna keep it, right?"

Luka nodded vigorously.

"I'm gonna hold you to that," Adrien pointed, half-playing, half-serious, and scooted back into his half of the bed and lay down.

"Please do," Luka huffed, smiling weakly as he laid down, too.

"Night, Luka." Adrien closed his eyes and settled.

"Night."

===

Luka dreamed of Marinette. He'd done so many times, but never like this.

Never so vividly.

Scenes of times they'd spent together flashed by, scenes he knew, but couldn't describe, because Marinette was the only thing in focus. All the colors and shapes beyond her were blurry and undefined, but she was in high definition. Her smile and her clothes and her voice and her eyes were all so clear and vibrant.

She shimmered, somehow, through different outfits. Luka thought Marinette looked good in everything, but of course he had favourites. The red and white sundress that complimented her waist, or her workout gear, which showed off her toned body.

Her clothes stopped shimmering, leaving her wearing nothing but his hoodie. Dream Marinette reached out to him, beckoning him into her arms.

And then she was on him, above him, looking down with lust in her eyes. And he felt her hands on his chest and her lips on his skin and the friction of her hips rocking against his own.

And then she…

===

Luka woke with a start, both hands gripping the sheets for dear life, and groin on fire.

Without a second thought, he got up and went to take a shower.

The cold water bit into his skin for a good five minutes, but it wasn't enough to drive away his arousal.

One hand between his teeth, Luka took care of it himself, turned off the shower and went back to the room for a fresh pair of underwear.

Bitter, frustrated and ashamed, Luka threw himself face-down on the bed.

"Luka?" came Adrien's quiet voice.

"Oh, shit," Luka whispered. "Did I wake you?"

"You were…" Adrien swallowed. "You were moaning in your sleep."

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Luka buried his face in his hands. "I am _so_ sorry, Adrien."

"It's okay," Adrien bit his lip. "It's not your fault."

Luka groaned and clenched his teeth.

"Are you okay?" Adrien whispered.

"No!" Luka complained.

"Do you…" Adrien frowned a little. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just…" Luka growled. "I can't believe I…"

He started pulling at his hair and Adrien immediately grabbed his wrist and yanked it away from his head.

Luka made eye contact with him.

Adrien looked… afraid.

"Sorry," he breathed, and let go of Luka's arm. "I'm sorry."

"No," Luka sighed. " _I'm_ sorry."

He rolled over onto his back.

"I just had my first wet dream since I was, like, seventeen," he grumbled. "And I immediately go jack off to the thought of Marinette?"

"Is… is that… a bad thing?" Adrien asked.

Luka turned his head to him, ready to tell him off, but one look at Adrien's face told him it was a genuine question. He looked back to the ceiling.

"Marinette is not something to fantasize about," Luka muttered. "Marinette's not an _object_. She's a _person_ , a wonderful person, a person I really, really-"

He cut himself off, which confused Adrien momentarily. Luka certainly wasn't going to say 'love' out loud, not right here, not right now.

"…Care about." Luka whispered. "And Marinette likes things the way they are, between me and her, and that's okay."

Adrien wasn't sure where Luka was going with this.

"And I'm fine with it, too," Luka grimaced. "I just like being with her. So why is it that all I want is for her to burst into my room and throw me down and ride my dick till I pass out?"

 _Well, that's quite an image_ , Adrien thought.

"And tonight…" Luka sighed. "With the fight… and I woke you up, and…"

Luka picked up his pillow, dumped it on his face, growled into it, and put it back.

"I just feel so…" he scowled.

"Guilty?" Adrien said, looking at the ceiling.

"Yeah." Luka replied miserably.

It was a moment before Adrien spoke.

"Me too."

Luka snapped his gaze to his roommate.

"What?" he whispered.

"I…" Adrien sighed. "I've been in love with Ladybug for years…"

Luka could understand that. Ladybug seemed pretty cool.

"And part of me knows," Adrien rolled his head to the side a little. "Part of me _knows_ that she'll never date me, but the rest of me can't let go. I've never been able to want anyone but her."

Luka didn't know where he was going with this, but he was going to listen, because Adrien had listened for him.

"But last night, while you were both out," Adrien shook his head, making the pillow shuffle. "I realised… I want Marinette. I want her bad."

Luka was conflicted.

"I've slept in her bed," Adrien muttered. "I've had her practically _feeling me up_ , and never once have I considered taking Mari out to coffee, or a movie, or _anything_."

He frowned at the roof.

"I feel like I've been taking advantage of her…" Adrien whispered. "And _now_ I want more, and I'm scared it's only because I'm…"

Adrien trailed off, because he didn't _dare_ say the word 'jealous' out loud.

"Desperate?" Luka offered.

 _That works, too._ Adrien's brain shrugged aggressively.

"Yeah," he breathed.

A shitty-feeling silence.

"I need to do better by her." Luka said.

"We both do." Adrien agreed quietly.

On the other side of the door, Marinette, who'd been woken by Luka's shower and, upon arriving at the room, realised that her boys were already talking and decided to eavesdrop against her better judgement, watched the sun peeking over the cityscape through the lounge window.

What she had heard them say had her feeling elated and miserable and aroused and anxious all at once.

She stood up from the floor and walked into her room and got back into bed, and stared at the ceiling.

In the other room, the boys were doing the exact same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yes, communication is fucking important, even if youre not in a relationship. sorting shit out, working through shit, is important.
> 
> also, for those of you who don't understand the whole 'kim calling marinette cousin', often irl unrelated families just come together and decide to call each other family, especially if they come from the same culture or ethnic group. its just my headcanon that kim and marinettes parents all stood up and said 'hey, were asian families in paris, and we're gonna help each other like family'. 
> 
> and don't worry,,, luka does in fact not make the same mistake again. i hope you forgive him, too, readers.
> 
> mmm see you next week


	12. Chapter 12

"Luka," Marinette's whisper came.

Luka jerked awake. Marinette was leaning above him. It was too bright for his eyes, which meant he'd probably slept in again.

"What's up?" he squinted.

"I'm going to the bakery for a bit, ok?" Marinette murmured to him. "I'll be back later."

"Come back safe," Luka mumbled.

He heard her quiet chuckle.

"I will, I promise." she whispered.

He raised his arms in request, and, with another chuckle, she hugged him.

"Bye, Luka." Marinette kissed his cheek.

"Bye," he smiled and let her go.

And she disappeared.

Luka wanted her to come back and kiss him more. He wanted her to crawl into bed with them and cuddle all day. Luka rubbed his eyes and frowned at the ceiling like he had done most of last night.

He always craved intimacy more in the mornings.

Originally, when he'd invited Marinette to stay while her parents were gone, he'd planned to invite her to spend the night in his bed at least once, just to see how it would feel to sleep beside her. If they would be comfortable, or if she wouldn't like it.

If he had been lucky, maybe she would have wanted to share more than once, and though he would never expect anything and certainly never put pressure on her, maybe it could have led to something that started to take their relationship in a new direction.

But Adrien was here, and that meant a whole different set of rules.

Adrien shuffled beside him, as if to confirm that he was really there.

His roommate was still asleep. Luka watched Adrien's chest rise and fall with steady rhythm, wondered what it would feel like to lay his head on that chest, and how his heartbeat would sound. What it would feel like to have his fingers tangled in that blond hair. 

Those thoughts gave rise to more intimate ones. What would Adrien's skin taste like under his lips? What would his hands feel like on Luka's body? What would it sound like if he-

Luka stopped there. He was attracted to Adrien, there was no denying that, but he should really try to avoid getting a boner here.

That would just be… rude? Inappropriate? Uncomfortable?

Unless Adrien was into it, but Luka didn't know if that was the case.

That said, if he _was_ into Luka, what would that mean? Would Adrien be leaving when his leg was healed? Would he want to move in forever?

And what did that mean for Luka and Marinette? If he started something with Adrien, would she back down? He didn't want her to step back, he'd been hoping to make something with her for _years_! He wanted to be closer to her, not further away.

Luka knew that Marinette had loved Adrien for a long time, too. Would she feel betrayed if Luka and Adrien got together? He didn't want to hurt her anymore, especially after last night.

Luka frowned. Romance was hard.

Adrien made a little noise in his sleep. Luka's heart skipped a beat.

If only he could date them both…

Luka paused a moment. That… wasn't a terrible idea, actually. He'd been part of group relationships on quite a few occasions, if only briefly.

The problem was that most people weren't into those kinds of relationship, and Marinette and Adrien hadn't even been in _monogamous_ ones before. He'd spoken with them both about it a couple of times.

Marinette had, at first, been saving herself for someone special, and then, as she got older, and busier, she realised she wouldn’t have time for anyone who wasn't. Adrien had just never had the chance to find someone.

What would it be like to date them both?

Probably a lot like how they currently were, if he was honest. Just… living in the same space, playing music and watching movies and eating and going places. The only thing that would be different would be…

Intimacy.

Luka felt his mind run away with thoughts of kisses and hugs and cuddles. He failed to reign it back in time, however, to avoid what was perhaps the _most_ intimate topic: sex.

It didn't have to be threesomes every time, Luka knew, but it'd be amazing all the same. He'd love even just getting to watch them if they went one-on-one, or vice versa for either with him.

Luka felt a pang in his chest and a spike in his heartrate. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted it to happen.

Adrien tried to roll over beside him, but was foiled, the cast on his leg acting like a cruel anchor. Adrien was jolted awake by the movement, and Luka was jolted from his thoughts.

"Hey, Luka," Adrien yawned. "What time is it?"

"Good morning, sunshine," Luka said, reaching for his phone. "Actually, it's probably not morning anymore."

"We slept in again?" Adrien rubbed his eyes.

"It's been a rough couple of days." Luka's phone screen was still far too bright for his eyeballs. "It's… oh, wow, it's like, three."

Adrien groaned.

"I have a broken leg for four days and my entire sleep schedule goes to shit." he frowned.

"I don't know if it's _just_ your leg, dude," Luka replied. "Things have been messy. Don't sweat it."

Adrien sighed and nodded.

"You gonna be okay?"

Adrien looked over at him. He only had the energy to sigh and nod again.

Luka gave Adrien's arm a gentle pat and wrenched himself up. He chewed his lip a moment, thinking, then disappeared to the bathroom.

A few minutes later he returned, plucked his jacket off the floor, and fished in the pocket. He then sat back down on the edge of the bed, at an angle that left him open to Adrien, and swallowed as he looked at the ring in his hands.

"Why did you take it off?" Adrien frowned, sitting up.

"Didn't have a choice." Luka muttered. "When you get put in holding they take anything you could use to hurt someone off you. This thing could fuck someone's face up if you punched them with it, so a cop took it. Almost stole it, too."

Adrien's eyes widened.

"Don't worry," Luka told him. "I'm never letting this thing out of my sight again."

Luka bit his lip.

"Plagg's gonna be mad, isn't he?"

"Yeah." Adrien swallowed. "I don't know why he doesn't like you."

"Sometimes I don’t like me either," Luka sighed.

"Oh, me too," Adrien huffed. "Me can be a fucking idiot sometimes."

Luka stared at the ring. He knew he had to put it on, but he was scared of Plagg.

"Remember," Adrien put his hand on Luka's leg, just gently. "He won't hurt you. I won't let him."

Luka let out his breath and closed his eyes and slipped the ring back onto his right hand. He braced himself. For what, he wasn't sure. It could have been death, yelling, angry glares, terrible magic, the silent treatment, perhaps; but whatever it was, he knew it wasn’t going to be good.

Luka kept his eyes closed even as he registered the green light of Plagg appearing beyond his eyelids, waiting.

Silence.

Then, the sound of the kwami floating, and some shuffling, and then chewing.

"Luka," Adrien coaxed. "You can open your eyes."

Luka opened one eye, still afraid. Plagg was nowhere to be seen. Adrien pointed in the direction of the door with a hesitant smile, and Luka looked.

Plagg, sitting in a half-empty camembert box atop the duffel bag, swallowed a slice whole.

"He didn't smite me immediately," Luka whispered. "That's good, right?"

"I'd say so," Adrien swallowed. "And he's eating, which is either great news, or a sign you're doomed."

"If I die, tell Marinette I love her," Luka breathed, and then turned in Plagg's direction. "Plagg?"

Plagg froze mid chew and slowly turned his head to make eye contact with Luka.

Upon meeting those green eyes, Luka's skin suddenly felt very cold. His stomach felt like he was falling, his lungs felt like he was drowning, his head felt like he was shrinking, and his tongue felt like it was tasting dirt with chili flakes in it. A ringing began in his ears, a high G-note, which almost hurt for more than one reason, and then everything went black.

The first thing Luka saw when his eyes began to work again was Adrien's face, and it made him briefly wonder if he'd died and gone to heaven.

Adrien was wide eyed, silent, and, for whatever reason, holding him. Luka would later come to realise this was because he had, in fact, almost died, and didn't quite recover right away.

"Luka?" Adrien breathed.

"Uh," Luka replied.

"Oh, _thank god_ ," Adrien hugged him. "I thought you died."

"I can't kill him," Plagg's voice came from somewhere Luka couldn't see, which might have been anywhere, because his vision was incredibly blurry. "Once he starts to get weak enough that I could finish the job, I wouldn't be tangible enough to do it."

"Fuck you," Adrien spat. "I thought we moved past this!"

"Well, that's what he gets for almost losing me." Plagg retorted.

"I've almost lost you plenty of times," Adrien growled, still clinging to Luka. "You've never tried to kill me!"

"He's not you." Plagg shrugged.

"I don't give a fuck," Adrien hissed. "Try anything like this again and I'll take the ring back and get rid of it!"

"That would go against everything you stand for, and you know it." Plagg replied.

"Better not make me do it, then, huh?" Adrien warned.

Luka felt awful. He felt tired and gross and miserable, and he wanted nothing but to sleep somewhere warm. Adrien's shoulder was warm. He nuzzled into it.

"I'm sorry I hurt your new little cuddle buddy," Plagg said, mostly sarcastically. "I won't do it again."

"Piss off." Adrien growled.

No response. Luka grabbed handfuls of Adrien's shirt to hold on to. He wanted warmth, security, to sleep in.

"Luka?" Adrien asked. "Are you okay?"

"Give him a minute." Plagg said. "I might have made a few of his brain cells dissolve."

"Why did I keep you?" Adrien grumbled at the kwami and put his hands on Luka's head, tugging him so they were face to face.

"Luka?" Adrien whispered. "Luka, speak to me."

"Muh," Luka offered, currently not entirely sure what speaking was, but somehow knowing that he could, or, perhaps, that he should be able to.

Adrien's big green eyes kept flickering over his face. They were such a pretty green. His hair was such a pretty blonde. His hands were soft, not as soft as Marinette's, but softer than his own. Luka could have looked at him all day.

"Luka?" Adrien beckoned again.

Was Luka's name Luka? What was a Luka? What was a name?

"Fix him!" Adrien yelled at Plagg.

"Okay," Plagg replied.

And then everything went black again.

===

Luka woke, this time, with a splitting headache. Judging by the level of light out the window, it was late afternoon already. He tried to sit up and realised that every part of him hurt.

"Fffffuck," he hissed as every muscle in his body sounded a nerve-based roll call with a dull ache.

He was immediately hugged.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop him." Adrien said, slightly muffled by the clinging hug. "I told you I wouldn't let him hurt you, and he did anyway."

"It's not your fault." Luka murmured, hesitantly hugging back.

He was very confused and in a lot of pain, but there was no way he was blaming Adrien for it. None of this was Adrien's fault.

"I yelled at Plagg a lot," Adrien told him, looking him all over. "Threatened to take away his stash. If he tries anything again, I really will get rid of the ring."

"I feel like that's a bad idea." Luka said, checking himself all over mentally.

No serious damage. All his piercings hurt, though. He'd have to check them later, even if they were all years old.

"Then he better not do anything." Adrien smiled.

Luka returned with a weak one.

"How do you feel?" Adrien asked, pulling his arms away completely.

"Sore, everywhere." Luka winced. "Last time I felt like this was when I woke up after that or-"

"Is he up?" came a call.

"He's up!" Adrien called back, then turned to Luka to whisper enthusiastically. "I told her you had a migraine."

Luka conceded that that really wasn’t far from the truth.

Marinette appeared in the doorway.

"Hey," she walked over and sat with them. "How's your head?"

"Well, I don't feel like I'm about to die anymore," Luka considered. "So, better."

"Good." Marinette chuckled.

"Everything good at the bakery?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "And I got a call from my parents. They're having fun on their cruise."

"Good." Luka smiled.

"Oh, Luka, your mom called," Adrien said. "We, uh, didn't know how much to tell her, so…"

"We just told her you weren't dead yet," Marinette winked.

Luka's smile got wider and let out his breath in relief.

"She laughed and told us to tell you to call her later." Marinette pulled out her phone to check it.

"I will." Luka nodded.

Briefly, he wondered how he would have fared against Plagg or his mother had Adrien and Marinette not been here to help. He was grateful he would never have to face the answer.

He was grateful they were here.

It felt pretty natural, too, to have them all sitting on the bed and chatting like this. Adrien's gentle eyes and Marinette's soft smile made quite the view.

She said something that made Adrien laugh and Luka, not quite focusing, weakly joined in. The movement made his stomach hurt.

He frowned.

"I'm gonna go check something," he scooted off the bed, past Marinette. "Back in a sec."

Luka made it to the bathroom and checked all seven of his piercings. It didn't look like any of them were in trouble, but to be sure, he took them out and cleaned them all and put them back in. By the time he'd put everything away, put his shirt back on and made it back to the room, his roommates had changed positions.

They sat on the edge of the bed. Adrien had his phone out, Marinette was right up against his side. Neither looked happy.

Luka didn't know why until he heard it.

[Do you have any idea how infuriated I am with you right now?] came a man's voice from the phone.

Adrien closed his eyes. Marinette pursed her lips.

[I was finally ready to forgive you for your little outburst on Wednesday,] the man growled. [Only to find you haven't been home in half a week? And then Nathalie tells me you've broken your leg? That's _two months_ of profit, you've lost me, Adrien!]

It was then that Luka recognized the voice. Adrien's father.

[How did it happen?] the old man demanded.

"I got hit by a car," Adrien said, voice low. He swallowed before saying the next word. "Father."

[Give me their details,] Gabriel growled. [I'll have Nathalie sue them for all they're worth.]

"We…" Adrien replied slowly. "Didn't get any details, Father. It was a hit and run."

Silence. Marinette's thumb brushed Adrien's arm where she held it. They shared a brief and unreadable glance.

[How did I end up with such a fool of a son…] the old man huffed.

Adrien flinched, like the words had physically stung him. Marinette took a slightly deeper breath than usual, a red flag that she was getting pissed off. Luka's hands curled into fists.

[Who were you with?]

"My friends." Adrien said.

[Friends.] Gabriel scoffed. [Which one of those worthless heathens was it this time?]

Adrien's face twitched, and he opened his mouth to reply, but more words came from the phone.

[Was it the black boy?]

Marinette's face opened up in shock and resettled into a vicious scowl. She despised racism. Luka had seen murder in her eyes before, but right now they held what looked more like a nuclear strike.

Adrien didn't look impressed either. He swallowed and went to speak again, but was interrupted once more. 

[What about that punk with the terrible makeup?] the old man asked, giving no more chance to cut in.

Luka had heard worse, but Adrien looked up at him like he'd just been ordered to kill him.

[It can't have been anyone respectable, you haven't been to see the Tsurugi or Bourgeois girls in years.] Gabriel muttered on. [Which is a shame, either of them would have made fine brides.]

Adrien clenched his teeth. Marinette swallowed and squeezed his arm lightly.

[I don't know why you haven't pursued _any_ suitable women, Adrien…]

Adrien's cheeks were flush with embarrassment and anger, and this time it really looked like he was going to say something, but the fashion mogul wasn't done yet.

[Wait,] the old man growled. [It was that little Chinese slut from the bakery, wasn't it?]

Luka began to see red. Adrien's jaw dropped open and his entire body started to shudder with rage.

[You know she only wants your status, Adrien.] Gabriel tutted. [You shouldn't waste your time on her. She's worthless to you.]

Marinette let go of Adrien's arm, lip trembling and tears welling in her eyes. Adrien looked so horrified by her expression.

[Are you listening to me, Adrien?]

"Yes, Father," Adrien spat, glaring at the phone. "I hear you loud. And. Clear."

[Good,] Gabriel replied, uncaring or oblivious. [Now, where are you?]

"Pardon?" Adrien said, the spite practically dripping from the word.

[Tell me where you are so Nathalie can send a driver to pick you up.]

"No," Adrien said at a volume that almost breached yelling.

[Excuse me?] the old man demanded. [You're coming home.]

"Thanks for the offer, Father," Adrien laughed bitterly. "But I think you'll find that I already am."

And with that, Adrien hung up, turned his phone off, and tossed it out the open window, where it clunked against the wall of the neighboring building and fell to the alley five stories below.

With zero acknowledgement he'd done that, Adrien turned to Marinette, who was shaking and holding back tears. Luka walked over and dropped to his knees beside her.

"Marinette, I am _so_ sorry," Adrien begged. "He should never have said that."

"You…" she whimpered, looking terrified. "You know it's not true, right? I don't care about your money-"

"Of course it's not true!" Adrien exclaimed, reaching out to hold her arms. "Of course I know that's not true. You would _never_ …"

"I can't believe he said all that." Marinette swallowed, voice uneven.

"I wanna go beat the shit out of him." Luka scowled.

"I'm so sorry your dad is an asshole," Marinette sobbed and pulled Adrien into a hug.

"I'm sorry, too." Adrien looked at Luka. "I'm sorry he said those things."

"It's not your fault." Luka shook his head. "Marinette? Are you okay?"

Marinette uncurled from Adrien and put an arm on Luka's shoulder. Luka reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Do you want some time?" Luka whispered.

"I think I'm gonna go for a run." she said.

"Be safe." Luka stood and tugged her with him. "Come back to us safe."

"I will."

She left them there to change.

"Luka," she heard Adrien's voice as she climbed out the window onto the fire escape. "Can you do me a favour?"

Marinette never found out what the favour was.

===

Marinette was halfway across a leap when the akuma appeared.

It caused her to fall, and she very nearly didn't catch herself, either.

She suspected that if that pipe hadn't been there, she would have had to call Luka and ask him to become Ladybug. He'd probably be quite upset with her for being so careless, but she knew she could have counted on him if something went wrong.

Marinette started doing parkour without the suit as practice when she was fifteen, after Chat Noir began his regular visits. On that night's patrol he'd mentioned he'd started doing pushups and situps and such to make sure he stayed in shape for the hero work. It hadn't even been intended as a brag, it had just been something he'd informed her he was doing.

She'd realised that it wasn't a terrible idea that her kitty had had.

Practising parkour with her untransformed body had had far more advantage than penalty, but sometimes she forgot that her ankles weren't always indestructible, or that she didn't always have a yo-yo to catch herself with.

Of course, she learnt quickly, and there was always the excuse of being clumsy to fall back on if she ever got injured. 

Marinette was extremely glad she'd decided to go through with it as she clambered her way back up to the roof of this building. She was stronger and faster than she had ever been in her life.

It only made her skill as Ladybug even greater.

At 19 years old, both Ladybug and Chat Noir had been at the top of their game. They were flawless partners, completely in sync, able to do their duty quickly and effortlessly and slip away unnoticed until they were needed again.

That was no longer the case. It wouldn't be, for a whole month. Perhaps even longer, if her bond with Chat weakened while they were apart.

A new partner meant learning all sorts of things all over again.

But Marinette had dealt with worse, and she could make it through this.

Ladybug transformed and began to swing through the city in the direction of the latest supervillain.

===

"So, what do you usually do when you're at home?" Luka asked as he poured a glass of water.

"Well, I used to play games," Adrien replied from the couch. "I even had a DDR, but I mastered the entire solo campaign and no-one was allowed over to play pairs with me."

"That sucks," Luka offered. "What else did you have?"

"Oh, Ultimate Mecha Strike, Extreme Racer Three," Adrien shrugged, shuffling a bit to see if he could get comfy. "Lots of games, but I mastered them all and had no more reason to play them."

"Did you like, watch TV?" Luka joined him on the couch.

"Yeah, Father got me lots of channels to keep me entertained." Adrien rolled his eyes. "Nothing that interested me until later, though."

"Why later?" Luka cocked his head.

"Well, the longer I was Chat Noir, the more stuff that happened," Adrien leant back against the couch and looked at the ceiling. "The more I realised I had to be prepared for. I spent a lot of time on like, history and science channels, learned about world affairs, wars, politics, chemistry, biology, mechanics, electronics, all that stuff."

Luka reached for the remote, but he kept paying attention, eager, and unsure as to why he was so.

"And the city," Adrien added, giving a weak laugh. "The amount of trivia I know about this city is embarrassing."

"No, it's cool," Luka smiled. "That you know stuff. I know music, and like, a bit about makeup. That’s about it."

"You know meditation, too," Adrien countered. "That's cool. Don't sell yourself short."

Luka's smile got bigger.

Plagg appeared from the doorway, an unimpressed look on his face, and shivering. As he floated closer, Luka realised he wasn't shivering, but _vibrating_.

"Yyyou haaave aaa caaall," Plagg growled out, his voice managing to shake with the rest of him.

"News," Adrien's hand waved rapidly in the space between him and Luka. "Turn on the news!"

Luka turned on the TV.

Nadja Chamack was on the air with an Akuma Alert. Some kind of flying supervillain, a black and blue blur shooting through the skies, dodged and dived against the assault of Ladybug's yoyo.

"Duty calls." Adrien turned to Luka.

Luka nodded and handed Adrien his glass of water.

He walked into the room, called up the transformation and flipped out the window to stick to the opposite building and make his way across the rooftops to the fight.

For some time, Adrien watched the screen, fingers tight around the cup, as two of his four closest friends ran into the fray, and wondered briefly if this was what Marinette felt like when she saw him on the news.

Then he remembered she was out there, in the rapidly darkening sky, while an akuma was about, and the fear he felt managed to make his fingers crack the glass in his hand. He drank the rest of the water so it wouldn't leak and put it down on the floor.

He wanted Marinette to come back. He needed to know she was safe and not in danger because of his mortal enemy. What if she died out there, where he couldn't reach her, and the last thing that had happened before he lost her was his father calling her a…?

Adrien clenched his fists. He hated everything about this situation. He hated feeling useless. He hated his father. He hated his leg.

He needed to do something. He'd been asking Luka to do the important things in his stead so they'd still get done, but it wasn't enough.

It didn't _feel_ like enough.

Adrien made a decision, then. One that was going to hurt, but he was going to go through anyway.

He was really glad he'd been doing pushups for four years.

===

Luka arrived on the same roof as Ladybug and was immediately swooped by the day's adversary.

"Oh, good, you're here," Ladybug said as she laid eyes on him. "Follow me."

She bounded across the block.

"So, what do we do?" Luka asked as he chased, keeping an eye on their enemy.

"She's after shiny things," Ladybug replied, tumbling over a chimney stack. "Pretty and expensive things like jewellery and art."

"How can you tell?"

"I am Bower!" the bird woman screamed. "My presents were not enough, so now, no-one's gifts will be worth anything at all!"

The akuma made her hand into a fist, and the ring on her finger sent a beam down that hit a man carrying a bottle of wine along the sidewalk. The bottle changed slightly in shape and color, and anyone else would have barely known the difference, but Luka was quite familiar with alcohol of every kind and could recognize the wine was now a much, much cheaper brand than it had been. The man clearly found this horribly distressing, screaming and running off.

"Yeah," Ladybug gestured lightly. "That."

"Okay," Luka nodded decisively. "What's the plan?"

"She's flying, so we should try to ground her."

"Trap?"

Ladybug nodded.

"Bait?" Luka asked.

"Largest collection of gifts and fancy things in Paris?"

"The Louvre."

Ladybug grinned. It looked a lot like Marinette's grin.

Without another word, they were on their way.

"Can you get her attention?" Ladybug called to him. "We need her to follow us."

Luka nodded and hooked his hand around the next phone pole he encountered and swivelled, using the momentum to throw himself over the street and onto an opposing balcony to bounce off of. He did a flip in the air and whistled with his fingers for extra volume.

Bower turned her attention to him and he recognized the glowing mask of Papillon's influence appearing over her face. Luka watched her swoop, attempting to snatch him out of mid-air as he fell.

Instead, a yoyo wrapped around his middle and pulled him backwards so quickly it made his stomach churn.

Bower predictably missed and began to pursue him as he zipped through the air.

Luka skidded to a stop beside Ladybug and she retracted her yoyo from his waist. They weren't far from the Louvre.

"We need to lure her into the hallways," Ladybug said, tumbling over an alley and tossing her yoyo far enough to catch on the roof of the Louvre. "So make an obvious show of escaping into the pyramid."

Luka nodded and followed her down into the courtyard with a huge leap.

Boy, the heroes sure spent a lot of time in the air, Luka thought as he descended. It was almost strange to be on the ground in his superhero form.

Luka made sure to let his steps echo, to run awkwardly and slowly, and when he noticed Bower was well and truly paying attention, he let himself speed out of her range and dive through the doors.

He and Ladybug made it halfway down the stairs before they heard the huge smash.

Luka looked up to see Bower, diving past what remained of the famous glass pyramid post-shattering via high-velocity supervillain collision, and coming straight for them.

Glass rained down around them, but he noticed that he didn't have to fear it hurting him as it started to just bounce off him. Then he realized - Bower had covered her face with her arms to shield her eyes from the impact, and hadn't uncovered it, and was about to hit the staircase.

Bower noticed too late, and speed-dived right into the structure.

Ladybug burst past Luka on the stairs and grabbed the ring from the hand of the villain and crushed it in her palms. Out fluttered the black butterfly.

" _I'm freeing you from evil!_ " Ladybug announced, and as the now white butterfly flew up and past the ruined landmark, she bid it farewell.

Luka watched Ladybug throw her yoyo up into the air. What must have been a trillion magical ladybug beetles burst out of it and flew in every direction, fixing the hole in the Louvre pyramid, the ring that had held the akuma, and probably that guy's fancy wine.

After Ladybug picked up the victim and brought her outside to be escorted home by the police, Luka bade her farewell. She told him there would be no patrol tonight since an akuma had already happened during the day and Papillon rarely made second attempts so quickly.

Remembering Adrien's advice about taking varying and random paths home to deter superhero trackers, Luka sped off in the direction of the school to make the turn there.

Ladybug, however, knew she was meant to be on a rooftop run, and should probably be returning to her boys soon.

She headed for the roof of the apartment, thinking she'd just transform atop it and go down without making extra effort. It was well into night-time after all.

It would be a routine sneaky superhero return.

Or, so she'd thought.

===

Adrien's chest hurt, and any suspicion that his leg had been healed by the Cure after the incident after all was officially banished by the time he made it to the roof.

Once he got settled he checked his phone for updates on the akuma.

It was already over, and things had gone back to normal.

That meant Luka and Ladybug were alive, and not dead, which lifted a little of the weight from his shoulders.

But Marinette was still unaccounted for.

When he heard footsteps behind him, he figured it must be her. He'd never expected to find Ladybug, frozen in place at noticing his presence.

"Ladybug!?"

"Adrien?!" Ladybug asked, and after perhaps a fraction of a second too much longer, repeated, "A-Adrien Agreste?"

"Yeah, uh," he smiled awkwardly. "Hey."

"Hi," Ladybug's shoulders relaxed. "How… how did you get up here?"

"With a great deal of effort and pain." Adrien said.

Ladybug gave a weak chuckle.

"Ladybug," Adrien cocked his head. "Why are you here?"

She seemed not to have an immediate answer for this, and made a frankly adorable stunned expression.

"I, uh," she stuttered. "I'm on patrol."

"This is pretty far out of your regular route," Adrien had to swallow to restrain himself from saying 'my Lady'.

"I… uh," Ladybug curled into herself the way she sometimes did when she panicked. "I came to check on Marinette?"

"Marinette?" Adrien blinked.

"Yes, I see her on her runs sometimes!" Ladybug said enthusiastically. "Sometimes we run together, since she's often out during patrols."

Adrien ignored the urge to ask if everybody important knew Marinette did parkour except him.

"I just thought I'd check to see if she was out here while that akuma was attacking, make sure she's safe, that's all." Ladybug nodded. Then she looked at him.

He felt a little naked under her stare. With the mask on there was this security, but just by himself, he was defenceless, especially against her. It always scared him, just a little, how vulnerable being untransformed around her made him feel.

Adrien wouldn't have it any other way, though.

"Why did you come out here?" she asked, her relaxed smile gracing his eyes.

"I came for Marinette, too, actually…" Adrien admitted.

This seemed to stun her.

"Something awful happened today," he said, looking up at the sky. "And then the akuma attacked while she was out here, and… I just wanted to make sure she was okay when she got back from her run."

"Adrien, that's…" Ladybug spoke very softly. "That's really sweet."

Adrien couldn't stop the blush that flared up on his cheeks.

"Marinette will probably really appreciate that you were thinking of her." she nodded, trying to be encouraging and stepping closer to him. "But she might not appreciate you climbing up here with your leg. You might make it worse, or even hurt something else."

"How'd you know my leg was hurt?" Adrien peered at her, just a little.

"Marinette told me why you needed me to get your belongings," Ladybug smiled. "And, the cast is right there."

"Oh," Adrien said.

"If you like, I can take you back down," Ladybug offered.

"No, no, I…" Adrien took a look in the directions of the rooves of all the surrounding buildings in the darkness. "Thank you, but… I want to be here for Marinette."

Ladybug took a breath and smiled.

"Alright, I have to head off now," she said. "I'll see you around, Adrien."

"See ya, Ladybug." Adrien waved.

The boy disappeared two, three, five, ten buildings away, as she ran and rolled and leapt. Once she was far enough, Marinette dropped her transformation and turned on her way back.

Adrien… he'd made that climb for her. It was dangerous, and possibly silly, but… she'd said it herself. It was a sweet thought.

Marinette underestimated the gap between the neighboring building and Luka's and landed on her shoulder wrong.

"Mari!" Adrien called out to her as soon as he registered her arrival.

She groaned a bit as she got up and walked over to him.

"Adrien?" she winced through the pain in her shoulder-blade. "How did you…?"

"With a lot of effort." he told her.

"Why did you do that?" Marinette asked, feeling a little like a broken record. "You could have gotten hurt or-"

"An akuma showed up while you were on a run? At _nighttime_?" he interrupted, the worry clear in his voice. "I _had_ to know if you were okay, regardless of the state of my leg."

Marinette blinked, then she dropped to her knees and gave him a hug.

"That was really sweet of you, Adrien," she told him. 

In truth, the words of Gabriel Agreste didn't mean much to her. They'd been worthless to her since the day she understood just how bad he was treating Adrien. But they still mattered to Adrien, and that was what was important.

And she had to admit, his big strong arms around her felt incredibly safe and warm and good, emotional hurt notwithstanding.

"I'll be okay," she told him. "Thank you for checking on me."

Marinette kissed his cheek. Adrien's face went a pretty interesting shade of pink.

"Now let's get you back inside, it's getting cold out."

===

Getting Adrien down the fire escape, through the bedroom, past the lounge and into his own bedroom took a little more time and effort than either would have liked.

After enquiring about Luka, who was nowhere to be found, she was told he'd gone for a walk and that he'd be back eventually.

She did a little cleaning, checked everything was off and locked etcetera, and _finally_ , Marinette was free to have a warm shower and get ready for bed.

She put on Luka's hoodie, which she was really enjoying getting used to sleeping in, and returned her towel.

It had been a long day and Marinette was ready to sleep without further incident.

The moment she arrived at the bedroom doorway and realised there was the shadow of a figure in the light of her window, she realised that that wasn't going to be the case.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette slowly nudged the door open.

If it was who she suspected it was, she wasn’t sure what to think or do.

She stepped into the room, and acted as though she hadn't seen him. Whether she thought this would make him go away or not was unclear to her.

Marinette was, admittedly, a little scared that he'd known where to find her, but she knew that he could probably be trusted.

If Chat Noir trusted him, Marinette would, too.

She still had questions, still wanted answers, but for now she would have faith in Chat.

Unfortunately, despite all this internal assuredness, she was still completely unprepared when the figure at the window made his first move.

"Hey."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmmm yes, just a little early this week bc i've had a doozy of a last 7 days and i needed the extra rest
> 
> enjoy!!


	13. Chapter 13

Marinette felt a little silly with her back pressed against the wall in incredibly well-faked panic, but 'Marinette' wasn’t supposed to already know or trust this man. And, she'd admit that it got tiring at times to keep up the act - there were days when Chat Noir would find her near akumas and stick to her side long enough she'd want to whisper that she needed to transform so he'd let her get on with it and deal with the rest later - but, if nothing, she had to at least _pretend_ she cared about not giving away clues to her identity as Ladybug.

"W-who are you?" she asked, trying to make her voice tremble with an appropriate amount of fear.

Luka, on the other side of the mask, was just the slightest bit torn. On the one hand, this was Marinette, who he loved and trusted with his darkest secrets and gravest mistakes. On the other, Adrien and Plagg had told him: under no circumstances was anyone other than Adrien allowed to know his secret identity.

He looked at her, stuck to the wall in fear, dressed in nothing but his hoodie, and desperately wanted to just reassure her, to detransform and say ' _don't worry, it's only me, and you have nothing to be afraid of and everything's going to be okay_ ,' but he had a job to do, one unfortunately more important than his feelings for her, and he had to do it.

"I think you know I can't tell you that." he said gently.

Marinette was genuinely taken aback by the earnest answer. Forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to be terrified by the total stranger with superpowers perched on her fire escape, she relaxed and cocked her head.

"Why…" she bit her lip, reminding herself to at least look anxious for the sake of appearances. "Why are you here?"

"Someone sent me." Luka checked his surroundings a little, trying to be casual, to be as non-threatening as possible, because he didn’t want to scare her. "I think you also know who that would be."

Marinette nodded and crossed her arms in a self-hug.

"He wanted me to check on you," Luka smiled gently. "Make sure you were okay."

"Really?" she replied, and felt a little stupid for betraying how much she wanted to know.

Luka couldn’t help smiling wider. She was so cute, but so nervous, and it killed him not to be able to reassure her while he was like this.

"Yeah," Luka shuffled in his spot on the fire escape. "He cares about you a lot, you know."

Marinette's cheeks went pink and she reached up to fiddle with a strand of hair.

She'd been wondering how Chat was, if he was safe and warm and cared for. He was irreplaceable, and she would be irreconcilably upset if she could never see him again.

Knowing he had asked who was possibly his closest friend to come to see her filled Marinette with a feeling she had not felt in a while.

"Is…" she asked quietly. "Is he doing okay? Do you know?"

"He'll survive." Luka assured her. "I'll get him back to you in no time."

Marinette gave the tiniest of chuckles.

The slight pain of trying to convince her of another man's care for her evaporated as the chuckle reminded him of why he loved her in the first place.

Then she asked him a question he wasn't expecting.

"Are you holding up okay?"

Luka turned his gaze from where it had been on the distant skyline, a little in shock, and blinked at her with wide eyes.

"Me?" he asked weakly.

"Yeah," Marinette crawled onto the foot of the bed and sat against the window sill, beside him but also not, and joined him in taking in the view. "This… superhero stuff. It's not easy. If I can help at all, let me know."

Luka wanted to detransform and thank her and hug her and kiss her all over her sweet and loving face. He settled for a smile and a nod.

There was a quiet, a comfortable quiet. He and Marinette had never needed too many words. That was something he loved about her.

She let him just _be_ , the way he was, no questions and no qualms.

(To a degree, of course; he trusted her to reign him in if he did something stupid.)

The city was gold at night. Luka was more partial to blues, but as he looked over it from above, he had to admit that this wasn't called one of the most beautiful cities in the world for no reason.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Marinette whispered.

"It is." he replied.

"Have you lived here long?"

"All my life, but my mom came in from S-" Luka caught himself just in time. "Sssomewhere else, met my dad here."

Marinette giggled. He sighed, annoyed at almost having slipped up.

"Don’t worry," she encouraged. "You'll get used to holding conversations while giving away as little information as possible."

"I've been told it's an art," Luka joked, remembering how Adrien had said the same thing.

"In that case, Chat's Picasso," Marinette crossed her arms on the window sill and scooted her butt back a little to comfortably lean on them. "I still know barely anything about him."

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Luka asked, watching a flickering light on a distant radio tower.

"Bit of both," she said, looking thoughtful. "It'd be nice to know him, like _really_ know him, but I know it's dangerous."

Luka hummed in affirmation.

"Does… does he know me?" she asked, looking up with wide and vulnerable eyes. "Does he…"

She trailed off and looked away.

"Well," Luka decided to bend the rules, just this once, for her. "If I was _allowed_ to tell you how much he misses you, how he worries about you, how he wishes he could come back to you, I would."

Marinette looked back to him in surprise.

"Unfortunately," he put a clawed finger to his lips. "I have to stay quiet."

Her wide blue eyes blinked. He winked at her.

Her cheeks went pink and she giggled, and it took all his willpower not to immediately smother her in affection, superhero stuff be damned.

"Tigereyes!" she yelped suddenly, smacking her little sweater paw on the window sill.

"What?" Luka chuckled.

Sometimes Marinette would loudly announce spontaneous ideas she had. It was never on purpose and always delightful to watch her try and explain herself immediately afterwards.

"Oh, I…" Marinette shrunk a little and he wanted to hold her. "Sorry…"

"No, no, you can tell me," he encouraged.

She paused a moment.

"Your eyes," she began. "They're blue. Chat's are green, and I'm just… not used to the cat eyes being… blue."

Marinette shuffled nervously, her hips doing a little wiggle.

"And, I was thinking about them," she blabbered and fiddled with her fingers, gaze darting all about the surroundings. "And like, things to compare them to, and I thought about gemstones, and obviously Chat's eyes, emeralds, but I couldn't think of any blue gems like yours, and, now I realise it should have been sapphires, damn it, but…"

Marinette glanced at her new mystery partner. He was giving her a look Luka often gave her, one she didn't understand but very much enjoyed.

"Blue tigereyes," she swallowed, looking away again. "Sometimes just called blue cat's eyes, but… that name's less interesting."

"Tigereye," Luka repeated.

He _did_ need a hero name…

"I like it," he smiled.

Marinette's eyes blew wide, gold light of the city and blue light of the moonlit sky swirling together in her pupils and the highlights of her raven hair.

"Tigereye." she breathed, and if he wasn't sold on it before, Luka now wanted it to be his real name for the way she spoke it with such reverie.

"Marinette," he replied, barely a whisper. "That's your name, right?"

She nodded, seemingly surprised. The way she was looking at him made his heart race.

Luka decided now would be a good time to go before his desire to kiss her got the better of him.

"I should… head off," Tigereye spoke. "But…"

She cocked her head, and he knew she was listening, and knowing he had her full and undivided attention was enough to make him blush.

"I know he used to come once a week," Tigereye swallowed. "I don't… I don't have to, but maybe, if you… if you like, I…"

He sighed and cursed himself. Why was he so terrible at asking things?

"Yes." she squeaked.

A brief silence, the air charged with anxiety and admiration.

"Please do!" Marinette gave an awkward smile, her face red. "I mean, yes, you… you can, for sure, come back."

Tigereye nodded, and stood up.

"See ya round, Marinette," he saluted and leapt up to the roof.

As he walked across the top of the building, he heard her make her surprised noise, and then giggle and shut the window. 

And Tigereye leapt to the alley below to detransform.

===

Luka decided to go in and bid Marinette goodnight with a hug and maybe a kiss, depending on if she was feeling it.

By the time Luka made it back up the stairs and into the apartment, she was already asleep, hugging a pillow as though it were a bedmate.

With a quiet sigh and light shake of his head, Luka knelt down and pressed a gentle kiss to her soft cheek.

She smiled, perhaps just in her sleep, and he left her to rest.

Luka took a short shower and briefly thought on the events of the last few days. It was only Saturday, and all this had started on Wednesday. Or perhaps Tuesday night, if he counted Chat Noir's visit as some kind of foreshadowing.

When he made it back to the bedroom, Adrien was leaning by the window, sniffling.

Luka had never seen Adrien cry before.

"Whoa," he got right up next to him and put his hand on Adrien's leg in an attempt to comfort. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Adrien said, but it came out broken.

He cleared his throat and sniffed and wiped his cheeks. 

"Is Mari okay?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah," Luka replied. "She's asleep."

Adrien nodded.

"Adrien," Luka whispered. "You know you can talk to me, if…"

"It's just… Father," Adrien choked out, eyes down, probably looking at his phone on the ground in the alley below. "He's just so awful and I…"

Luka frowned and scooted behind where Adrien sat, trying not to be distracted by his broad shoulders or the impressive muscle tone of his back.

"I've told everyone I've ever met," Luka murmured, closing his eyes. "That I know nothing about my dad."

Adrien turned to better listen.

"It’s a lie," Luka continued, voice becoming lower. "I remember one thing about him."

Luka held up his pointer finger for emphasis.

"I was five. Maybe six," and he adjusted the amount of fingers shown accordingly, and then dropped his hand. "Jules was three. My mom went and got her ears pierced for the hell of it."

Adrien knew Mrs Couffaine was a free spirit, it made sense that she'd have done something so spontaneous.

"And when she got home that night," Luka growled. "Dad flipped out. Yelling and screaming, saying shit like 'how dare she do that', like it was his decision what she did and didn’t do to her own body."

Adrien remembered when he had asked to have his ears pierced, so he'd be prepared in the event that he ever needed to wear Ladybug's Miraculous, but his father denied him. Of course, he went and got them anyway, and had sported two gold sleepers every day since, but Gabriel was furious enough to take away his TV privileges for a month.

Luka's father was starting to sound unfortunately familiar.

"That was the night he disappeared." Luka swallowed. "I don't remember his face, or how tall he was, or anything about him, except that he left us over a pair of earrings."

Luka seemed so upset, all Adrien wanted to do was give him a hug.

"When Jules turned thirteen, and got her ears pierced," Luka murmured. "I got mine done too, just to spite him."

Adrien could think of a few things he'd done out of spite.

"And then I just kept getting them cause I like 'em, but," Luka shrugged half-heartedly. "What I'm trying to say is, my dad was an asshole, too."

Luka turned to Adrien and suddenly Adrien was somehow seeing him in a different light.

"So, you're…" Luka murmured. "You're not alone, with that."

Adrien rested his head on Luka's shoulder.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"Marinette's the only other person in the world that knows," Luka bit his lip. "About my dad."

Adrien retreated from the lean.

"She's really good like that," he said, looking at the wall and thinking of the girl beyond it. "Keeping important stuff secret. She's been there for me _and_ Chat Noir."

"Wasn't it hard to know her as both, though?" Luka asked. "How did you not forget who told who what and when?"

"Sometimes she'll tell me things twice," Adrien nodded. "Sometimes we'll go to the same 'new place' twice. It'll be the same for you after a while, and you'll get used to it. It's the identity stuff, we have to play by the Miraculous' rules."

"Is it always this silly and contrived?" Luka huffed.

"Yep," Adrien looked back to him with a commiserating smile.

They sighed at the same time.

Adrien's smile fell away. Luka noticed and felt for him.

"What do you usually do when you feel bad?" Luka asked him.

"Go and stay with Marinette." Adrien replied quietly.

"Right, I knew that already," Luka frowned to himself.

"Unfortunately, that's no longer an option," Adrien sighed, his broken leg shuffling just the slightest amount.

Luka only nodded and then shook his head.

"Well," He took a deep breath, trying desperately to make his words work just this once. "If… if you want, I can… like… maybe, y'know, if-if you want, I could…"

It took Adrien all of five seconds to realise what it was that Luka was proposing with his stuttered and broken words, but wasn’t brave enough to do anything except go red in the face.

"I mean, it's," Luka began to sweat. "Probably not the same, but… if… if it… would help, at all, to… for me to…"

"Yes." Adrien squeaked in merciful interruption, not at all functioning in the face of the idea of cuddling someone he had never cuddled before. "That would be good. That would be fine. It's… yes. That would be… good, that would be nice…"

Adrien put his face in his hands, giving up. Luka begged the ceiling silently for strength.

"Sorry," came Adrien's muffled groan.

"No," Luka swallowed. "It's okay, we can… we can do this."

"Okay," Adrien whispered, looking at him.

His green eyes could make Luka's heart stop.

"Okay, let's…" Luka shuffled over to his side of the bed and awkwardly patted the space next to him. "C'mere…"

Adrien moved with difficulty, which was understandable with the state of his leg, and pressed up against Luka's side. Luka considered a moment, then laid his arm over Adrien's shoulders.

"Put your arm…" he mumbled, and Adrien put his arm around Luka's waist. "Good, ok…"

"And down?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah," Luka nodded. "Alright, and…"

With a few more broken sentences, a fair amount of scooting, grunting and readjusting, and the odd 'sorry', they finally settled.

"H-" Luka tried, but couldn't follow through with a whole word due to the dryness of his mouth. He swallowed and tried again. "How's this?"

Adrien, curled into Luka's side with his head on Luka's chest and his arms around Luka's waist with Luka's arm gently holding his shoulders, honestly couldn't complain.

"This…" he stuttered, heart racing and cheeks burning. "Th-this is fine. 'S good."

"Good," Luka nodded, praying he didn't somehow fuck this up.

Adrien could hear Luka's heart going at roughly the same speed as his, but he couldn't imagine why. Luka took a breath and Adrien felt his chest raise under the skin of his cheek, heard the rush of air in his lungs.

And slowly, ever so slowly, Luka's heartbeat evened out, and Adrien's did too. Adrien shuffled a little more, made an attempt at moving his broken leg and gave up immediately.

He moved his face up just a little, because something was pressing against his temple and it was beginning to annoy, but whatever it was just began to dig into his cheek, too.

Adrien frowned, tired and emotionally drained and now mildly offended, and wrenched himself up to investigate.

He pushed Luka's shirt up with one hand and was immediately dumbstruck.

Adrien stared, wide-eyed, at the twin pieces of silver jewellery adorning Luka's chest. Never in his life had he come across even the concept of piercings in that particular spot. He knew Chloe had a bellybutton piercing, and that Alya had had her tongue done for her sweet sixteenth, but as far as odd places to get piercings went, this was, somehow, entirely new to Adrien.

Without thinking, he brushed his fingers to the cold metal, and Luka, who had been confused and conflicted but admittedly curious as to what exactly it was that Adrien was doing, made a little noise in surprise and felt his entire body flinch in reaction to the unexpected touch to the highly sensitive spot.

This snapped Adrien back to reality, and after he processed what it was that he had done, he immediately panicked.

" _Oh my god_ ," he gasped, pulling his hands close and away from Luka. " _Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I_ …"

"Whoa, hey," Luka sat up and pulled his shirt down, dazed and also on the verge of panic. "Easy, sunshine, it's… it's okay…"

"No, it's not," Adrien shook his head, wide eyed and shaking. "I can't believe I… I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…"

"Adrien," Luka held his friend's face by the unfairly squishy cheeks and looked him in the startled green eyes. "Breathe."

Adrien swallowed and looked away. He was… scared.

"It's okay," Luka soothed. "I'm not mad. Kinda confused, really worried, but not mad."

"I'm sorry," Adrien whispered, still looking terrified.

"I forgive you," Luka told him, and he meant it fully, but that was only part of why he was saying it. "Ok? I forgive you, Adrien."

Luka could tell Adrien had never seen anything like his piercings by the look on his face. He'd only been curious, and he hadn't hurt Luka at all. Unfortunately aroused him a little, sure, but it wasn't like he'd harmed or violated him.

And poor Adrien was panicking as though he'd left Luka mortally wounded just by looking at his bare chest.

"You didn't do anything wrong, dude," Luka whispered, stroking his thumb along Adrien's cheek in a desperate attempt at comfort. "Please be okay again."

Adrien closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Luka pulled him into a brief hug, still just hoping it was comforting.

"It's okay," he sighed, telling himself as much as his friend. "Let's lie back down."

Adrien took a slightly different position this time, a little higher up than before. He looked up at Luka's face, still apprehensive. Luka responded by rubbing his bedmate's shoulder with his hand.

"Do…" Adrien whispered after god knew how long. "Do they hurt?"

"No," Luka let himself smile. "They're, uh, really sensitive, but… no, they don't hurt."

"When did you get them?" Adrien asked.

"When I was… nineteen, I think," Luka had to pause and count for a moment, just to be sure. "Yeah, two years ago."

"I really am sorry, Luka," Adrien swallowed. "I wasn't thinking, I won't do it again."

"And I really do forgive you," Luka gave his shoulders a squeeze. "I mean, maybe don't go pulling up people's shirts, but… please don't worry, you didn't hurt me."

Adrien only nodded, and closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

Luka sighed, gave his friend's arm another soft rub and let himself drift off as well.

===

Marinette's alarm woke her at 9, and she was up by 9:20 and making coffee. By 10, she decided to check on her boys.

They wore matching soft smiles, Adrien nuzzled into Luka's side, his tanned arm starkly contrasted against Luka's white shirt and the patch of pale stomach visible from where Adrien's hand had shifted the fabric. One of Luka's legs was trapped between both of Adrien's, and one of his arms was hugged around Adrien's shoulders, his fingers lightly gripping the black t-shirt. The other had rested close to Adrien's arm on his chest. 

Marinette couldn't help but smile. She'd been worried about them, had been scared they'd fight or ignore each other, but it seemed they were getting closer every day, and that took a weight off her shoulders.

With a contented sigh, she went to her bag and pulled out the personal project she'd been meaning to finish before her parents got home, took it to the couch, and began sewing.

===

Luka woke slowly.

He took one look at his current situation, and the smile that had been fading as he regained consciousness returned at full force.

Adrien may not have been his boyfriend, and, knowing what Luka knew, he might never be, but he certainly was cute and warm and comfortable, and Luka decided he was going to enjoy the moment.

Even if his leg felt a little squashed.

He attempted to move it, but Adrien's legs were much thicker and stronger than his own.

With a breathy chuckle, Luka gave his bedmate's shoulders a gentle squeeze.

"Adrien," he beckoned quietly, his involuntary grin shaping the sound of the word.

Adrien only frowned in his sleep, made a little noise of protest and nuzzled his face further into Luka's side, moving the hand that hand been resting in the centre of his friend's chest to hide his face from the world. 

"God," Luka breathed, resisting the urge to laugh. "No-one has the right to be this cute…"

He gave Adrien's arm a little pat and tried once more to free his leg, but no dice. He considered calling Marinette, but he honestly didn't want to disturb Adrien from his sleep.

"C'mon, sunshine," Luka complained, still smiling so much his cheeks were starting to hurt. "It's not that I'm not enjoying this, but I need my leg back…"

He squirmed, trying to make Adrien move, but he was heavier than anticipated.

"I suppose there are worse ways to die than starving in the arms of a solid ten," he murmured, still trying not to laugh.

Luka almost resigned himself to his fate, but then he remembered a previous experience involving a night out, a group of very nice girls and an extremely uncomfortable futon, and realised he had one last attempt at freedom.

He twisted himself to the side and moved his body down, and like a chinese finger trap, Adrien's legs loosened enough with the downward movement for him to wrangle his leg free.

After successfully unhooking his foot, Luka looked back to Adrien and realised they were now face to face, and close enough thanks to their arms that one movement would have their noses touching… or, perhaps, their lips.

Luka couldn't shake the thought fast enough to avoid blushing. Tentatively, he placed his free hand on Adrien's waist in hopes it would help him shift the arm trapped under Adrien's neck. 

He didn't manage to move it further than a single inch before Adrien made another noise of annoyance, frowned more, and reached out to trap Luka in a tight and impressively strong hug.

For a good minute, Luka considered letting himself die there, wondering what would kill him first. The prime contender seemed to be cardiac arrest, since Adrien's face was now touching his and Luka was not in any way capable of fighting the resulting spike in his heartrate. However, Adrien's large muscular arms were applying enough pressure to remind him of his bad rib, which meant suffocation could also have been on the way.

Adrien nuzzled him and he prayed whatever death that came would be swift enough to terminate him before he got a boner.

Finally, Luka conceded that he would have to wake Adrien up if he was going to make it out alive.

"A-Adrien," Luka squeaked, swallowing heavily. "Adrien."

Adrien really, really didn't want to wake up.

"Adrien, _please_ ," Luka squirmed, getting breathless. "You're gonna kill me…"

"…Five more minutes," Adrien mumbled, moving his face up and rubbing Luka's cheek with his nose.

" _I'll be dead by then_ …" Luka rasped.

"Luka?" came Marinette's voice.

Luka yelped in surprise, which, somehow, was still not enough to wake Adrien. Marinette, a silly grin on her face, stood above them.

" _Help,_ " he squeaked up at her.

Marinette, twitching with supressed laughter, put one hand over her mouth and the other under Adrien's grip, trying to pry his arm away.

She was unsuccessful.

"Oh boy," she whispered. "Alright, let's try another Chat Trick."

Marinette's delicate finger slipped behind Adrien's ear and began to tickle.

Adrien's entire back arched, and his eyes snapped open.

There was a brief period of time where all he did was stare, wide eyes darting between Luka, greatly distressed in his arms, and Marinette, who had clearly woken him up with a touch. They both looked concerned.

"Sorry," Adrien whispered, retracting instantly and shrinking into himself.

Luka rolled back and began taking deep, heaving breaths.

"Don't worry, Adrien," Marinette sat beside Luka's waist and put her hand on his chest, looking between them with a gentle expression. "Everything's okay now."

Adrien swallowed. It didn’t _feel_ okay.

Luka's hand came up to touch Marinette's on his chest as he caught his breath.

"Is your bad rib hurting?" she asked him.

Luka shook his head no.

"Do you want me to make some breakfast?" Marinette offered. "There's not much here, but I'm sure I can whip something together."

"I thought you guys went shopping like… three days ago?" Adrien asked weakly.

"We couldn't buy much," she replied, her thumb gently stroking the fabric of Luka's shirt. "Luka doesn't cope in the store, but he won't let me go by myself, so we have to compromise and just be quick and get the essentials."

"Also, I'm not exactly rich," Luka croaked out. "Can't afford a lot."

"I'll pay then," Adrien said.

"Are you sure?" Marinette looked at him.

"What else am I gonna do with it?" Adrien sighed.

"You don't have to, dude," Luka reached out and put his hand on Adrien's arm.

"It's the least I can do," Adrien said quietly, turning his gaze away.

Marinette shared a glance with Luka and pursed her lips. Cleary something was wrong, but neither knew how to approach it.

"I'll go see what I can find in the kitchen, ok?" she told them and stood.

Luka watched her go, pick something up from the couch and nervously slip into her room with it. He sat up and stretched a little, and his bad rib twinged.

"Do you want me to take you out to the couch?" Luka offered.

"No, thanks," Adrien sighed. "I think I want to take a nap."

Luka was a little worried by this, but he nodded and got up and headed to the bathroom.

When he emerged again and investigated the kitchen, Marinette didn't look hopeful about their breakfast prospects.

"Nothing?" Luka guessed.

"Nothing," Marinette shook her head and turned to him.

"Alright, I guess we're going shopping sooner than we thought," Luka looked around for his pen and paper.

"I'll ask Adrien if he wants anything," Marinette passed him and went into the room.

Luka considered what he might need to buy and wrote down ideas. He realised he had no aspirin, or band-aids, or any other first aid things, that they should buy some tissues, and other cleaning supplies, too.

And then a thought occurred to him, and he felt conflicted. On the one hand, he should really ask Marinette about it, on the other, she might get offended or uncomfortable, and he didn’t want that.

In that moment, she appeared from the room, holding Adrien's wallet and pulling the door almost closed behind her.

"Is he okay?" Luka swallowed.

"I don't know," she frowned, walking to the couch and sitting down. "He seems sad."

Luka felt a little guilty about that. He looked down at his notepad, thinking maybe he could bring Adrien back a treat of some kind.

"What kind of snacks does he like?" he wondered aloud.

"Camembert," Marinette said. "But, I know he likes mint cremes, too."

Luka scribbled that down.

He realised that he should really ask Marinette his question before they left.

"Uh…" _Oh, fantastic start_ , thought Luka bitterly. "Hey, M-Muh… Mmm…"

Marinette looked over at him from the wallet in her hands, the look on her face one she always wore when something confusing drew her attention.

"Fuck," Luka mumbled exasperatedly and looked at the ceiling. "Mmmmmarinette."

With a quiet 'oh', Marinette sighed and smiled.

"C'mere," she beckoned softly with a hand.

Luka walked over and joined her on the couch. She linked her arm with his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You can do it," she encouraged. "Take your time."

Luka took a breath and smiled.

"M-Marinette," he tried again, avoiding eye contact and feeling his face heat up. "Sorry if this is… aw, man…"

Marinette waited patiently with a gentle smile.

"Ok," Luka told himself. "I just, wanted to check if I should buy… if-if you need, uh… should I get…"

She gave his arm a light stroke with her thumb. 

"F-feminine hygiene… stuff," Luka stuttered out, shutting his eyes. "Do you need me to get you any of… that stuff?"

"Oh!" Marinette squeaked, and then chuckled. "Oh, no, Luka, that's…"

She giggled for a moment. He hesitantly opened one eye.

"That's," she gave a little nod. "That's really sweet of you, Luka, but, no, I don't need any of that stuff."

"Will you need any soon?" Luka asked.

"Oh, no, no," Marinette bit her lip. "I… haven't needed them in a while, actually."

Luka was the slightest bit surprised by this. He'd spent a good deal of time learning about the human body in the last few years.

"Is…" he looked at her with concern. "Is everything okay? Are you sick or something?"

"No, no," she shook her head. "They stopped when I got my implant."

"Oh!" Luka exclaimed, and then, after a moment of thought, he asked another question. "Why… why didn't you just go on the pill?"

Marinette uncurled from his arm and looked to the floor.

"You know me," she said quietly. "I'm forgetful and clumsy and… I couldn't trust myself to be on the pill, I needed something Marinette-proof." 

The smile on her face was so sad, and Luka felt the same sadness growing in his own chest. As long as he'd known her, she'd wanted a family, but it seemed like she was doubting that dream now.

"I thought you wanted kids?" he murmured to her, watching her closely.

"I did," she told him softly, looking into the middle distance. "When I was younger. But…"

She gave a little bittersweet huff.

"I got older," she shrugged. "I got busier. And my side-job, it's dangerous and…"

Marinette sighed and hugged herself.

"Even if I had someone…" she trailed off and shook her head again. "No, I don't think I'll have kids any time soon."

Luka put his arm around her and tugged her close.

"I know that was important to you," he whispered, and she looked to him with her gorgeous blue eyes. "But, whatever you decide to do with your life, I'll be here."

After a moment, she hugged him back.

"You're the best, Luka," she smiled.

"No, you are," he retorted. "Definitely the best."

She rolled those big eyes. He gave her a squeeze, and then realised he might hurt the arm the implant was in.

"Shit, which side is it on?" he asked. "I know it can hurt-"

"It doesn’t hurt _anymore_ , you big sap," Marinette laughed and nudged his shoulder with her forehead. "But… it's on my left."

"Okay," he nodded. "Noted."

"Alright," she let go of him and stood up. "Let's go get that shopping done."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was originally going to be much longer but i split it into two to ease my workload a little
> 
> helo everyone sorry for the gap in my update scedule. my grandma died and i have depression so i ended up in a really low mood. im not sure when ill be back up to weekly updates, maybe this week coming, maybe the week after, but know that its usually saturday when i post it so be sure to check back.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning kiddos this chapter contains discussions of death and deals a little with the effects of parental abuse, so as usual if these things might upset you you can click off or prepare urself to keep reading ok? be safe bebs

Luka made it about twenty minutes, and a third of the way through the shopping, without panicking. He kept himself distracted by the songs over the loudspeaker and every miniscule movement of Marinette's hand in his.

For a good five minutes he'd also tried to focus on what it was that she was buying, in the hope that one day he'd be able to do some part of it by himself, but after they passed the snack aisle and his eyes almost burned out of his sockets from the sheer amount of color there, he gave up and went back to looking at the floor and attempting to sync his heartbeat with the tempo of the trashy pop tune playing in the air around them.

"It's okay," Marinette soothed him quietly as she read the back of a packet of instant noodles, squeezing his hand lightly. "You're doing great. Just a little longer and we can go back home."

Luka eventually zoned out so hard that he didn't register any noise at all until he automatically answered a question he didn't even hear.

He deduced the question to have been 'do you want the receipt?' as the receipt was handed to him.

Marinette carried some of the bags despite his insistence, and they piled the groceries into the big boxes in the back of the van that Marinette had brought from the bakery to keep the food from falling everywhere as they were driving.

As Luka prepared to discard the receipt, he took a glance at the total and balance statements at the bottom, and did a double take.

Adrien's card had… quite a lot of money on it.

A scary amount of money on it.

"Marinette," Luka breathed, unable to take his eyes off the sum. "Is this… tell me this is a misprint, or something?"

"Nope," she gave a nervous smile. "That's the real number."

"Are you fuckin'…" Luka whispered, looking at her in shock and awe. "Is… is it illegal to be holding this? Should I eat this paper?"

Marinette tried to keep the laughter in, but it was not working well at all. She reached out and put her hands over his around the thin paper.

"Luka," she said between giggles, tone an attempt at comforting.

Slowly, she tugged the receipt out of his fingers and scrunched it up and put it in her pocket.

"Relax." Marinette told him, giving him a hug. "It's just a number."

"A very large number." Luka replied, resting his cheek atop her head.

"Would it help if I told you he has more than that in his savings accounts?"

Luka retracted from her a little and leant in close.

" _More_?" he whispered in disbelief. "More money than that _exists_?!"

Marinette put one hand over her face in an encore of her earlier attempt not to laugh.

She was adorable, and being reminded of that fact banished Luka's worries. Her eyes, full of joy and affection, met his, and there, she in his arms, by their van full of food for their apartment, the two simultaneously felt that age old instinct.

The desire to kiss one another.

Luka leant in, hesitant until he caught the faintest smile crossing her lips, and then they closed their eyes and -

An explosion shook the ground.

Luka squeezed Marinette close as screams, and, oddly, loud music, rang out around them.

The closest speakers of the Akuma Alert PA system blared the pre-recorded warning, and Luka looked around for a safe place to hide Marinette while he joined Ladybug.

"Quick-" Marinette hissed, but she didn't get to finish her sentence, because the akuma burst into the square beside the store they'd just come out of.

It was a regular-sized woman in a blue and purple dress, with pink skin and hair. She had a short, lightly curled hairstyle and a lot of blue beaded jewellery, and mismatching gloves on her arms. The distant jazzy music began to also play from some unseen source nearby, adding a strangely antique-feeling atmosphere.

"All this food, processed and drenched in chemicals!" she shouted at the store. "Food used to be good!"

She snapped her fingers and the store was consumed in a flash of light, leaving it rather differently decorated, and in the large, ornately bordered window, Luka saw deli meats hanging from hooks where he knew the cold section had been. The worker inside was incredibly distressed, looking around, and once she spied the akuma out the window, she ducked under the counter.

"Oh, stop screaming!" the akuma shouted at the people panicking about the square. "I'm taking you back to the city's prime!"

"The city is in its prime!" Marinette shouted.

"It most certainly is not!" the akuma turned on them. "It's so ugly now!"

The supervillain snapped her fingers and more buildings took on older architecture, cars became much earlier models, and a lot of people's clothes had changed.

Including Marinette's. She now sported a lovely dress in three shades of pink. She didn't seem to be perturbed by the outfit swap, but her hands immediately flew to her ears. After a tiny sigh of relief, she scowled at the akuma.

"There!" the villain grinned. "Now you're dressed like a proper lady!"

Luka had thought Marinette's old jeans, cardigan and loose singlet had been just fine, and while he would admit the dress was nice, she hadn't been given a choice in wearing it, and that really rubbed Luka the wrong way.

Further up the square, a young boy broke from his cowering mother's arms to retrieve his toy, a doll that lay close to the akuma's present location.

"August!" his mother hissed, but it was too late.

Little August had run clear into the sights of the akuma.

"Children shouldn't be playing in the streets!" the villain complained.

Luka had no clue what she was going to do to the kid, but he knew that whatever it was wasn't going be good. Without thinking, he darted forward and snatched August up, tumbling away with him.

His mother, a few feet away, cried out in fear, and the akuma looked none-too-pleased.

"Get back here with that child!" she yelled at Luka.

"No?" Luka yelled back.

She seemed stumped by this, and after a moment, she approached quickly, a scowl on her face.

Before Luka could get up and run, the akuma was halted by Marinette throwing herself in front of them.

"Oh come, now," the akuma put her hands on her hips. "Ladies shouldn't be fighting."

"I'm not letting you near this child." Marinette said, resolve radiating.

"Well, that's too bad," the akuma shrugged. "Because I'm going to get my hands on him."

"That's your second mistake." Marinette took a step forward.

"What was my first?" the villain looked… intimidated, for some reason.

"Assuming I was a lady." Marinette quipped.

And then, with a precision Luka had only seen in experienced brawlers, Marinette delivered a frankly brutal left hook directly to the akuma's cheek.

The only thought Luka's brain offered in response to this event, in an extremely unhelpful, absolutely inappropriate and embarrassingly honest fashion, was ' _dear god, please sit on my face_ '.

The akuma reeled back in shock, and while she was distracted, Marinette spun and grabbed Luka's hand, wrenching him and the child in his arms up with the strength he'd never understood but definitely didn't complain about, and began to run.

Luka adjusted August on his hip for more comfort as they sprinted. The kid was probably only six, seven at the most, and Luka felt for him.

He knew what it was like to be so young and feel so helpless.

Before he could wrap his head around what exactly was happening, Marinette pushed them into an alley on the edge of the square.

"Stay here." she said.

"Okay," Luka answered automatically, and then immediately did a double take. "Wait, wait, what?"

"I have to go," Marinette told him.

Luka understood that she meant she was going to get Ladybug, but he didn't like it. 

"Marinette?" August asked from Luka's arms.

"Gus," Marinette came close with a gentle expression. "Ladybug will be here soon. She'll save you, ok? She'll distract the akuma and you and Luka and mommy can all run away."

"What about you?" Luka grabbed her wrist as she turned. 

"I'll hide in the first place I find," Marinette told him, holding his hand briefly. "I promise."

Luka wanted to demand she come back to them the moment she was done… doing whatever it was she did to get Ladybug's attention, but Luka had his own business with Ladybug, and that meant that as soon as this kid was safe, he had to vanish.

So Luka let go of her wrist and watched her disappear.

Someone sappy would say his heart followed Marinette. Luka would say his hadn't come back to him since the day he'd fallen in love with her.

===

Ladybug took approximately three minutes to arrive on the scene.

In that time, the akuma had remodelled the entire area around the square as she searched for the "uppity broad" that had "socked her in the kisser", which meant a fresh wave of screaming people poured out of a different hiding place every thirty seconds.

August had been too afraid to make any noise, and Luka worried for him.

He thought about it, sometimes, how he was old enough to remember a time when akumas weren't a near-daily occurrence, but August wasn't. Many of the kids in the city weren't old enough to remember a time when supervillains had been nowhere except the pages of comic books.

Many of them had had a friend or family member turned into one of those supervillains.

Luka lurked at edge of their hiding spot, holding August tight, waiting for the right moment to bolt for where the child's mother surely waited.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the akuma called. "You can't just punch Ragtimitis and not come back for a proper fight!"

The idea that the akuma had set her sights on Marinette specifically had Luka anxious. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next, either, and he didn't know which of those was the worse concept.

Finally, Ladybug swung down into the open area, kicking the akuma across the face as she landed.

Luka wondered if Ladybug had gotten a haircut recently, as her usual twin buns were gone, like Marinette's had been after Ragtimitis zapped her.

Ladybug's arrival sparked the remainder of the civilians in the square, a good fifty people, to scramble.

Luka saw his chance and darted from the alley into the fray, weaving through panicked tourists and jaded but hardly unwise citizens.

He spotted the woman he recognized as August's mother and made for her.

"Run." he told her as he handed her the child.

She nodded and began to sprint. August, briefly, reached out to Luka with one small arm as they got further away.

The tiny gesture weighed heavy on Luka's mind as he made his way back to the alley to transform.

===

To say that Marinette was anxious would have been a massive understatement.

Luka was stuck in an alleyway, wondering where she was. Her hair had not changed back with the transformation, and if Luka saw her from said hideyhole it might give her away. He was also with one of her regular babysitting clients, and August may have been one of the less troublesome children she'd looked after, and Luka may have been no stranger to kids, but she still worried. 

Marinette's heart was going as fast as her yo-yo as she tried to focus on the akuma, who was currently being argued with by Papillon from wherever he hid as he terrorized the streets of Paris.

"You said you wanted me to get the pink girl!" Ragtimitis hissed to the supervillain.

~I don't want that one anymore,~ his disembodied voice had stopped sending shivers down her spine long ago but Marinette still hated it. ~I want _this_ one now!~

"I don't fight!" the akuma complained. "I throw parties!"

"Sorry, doll," Tigereye landed beside Ladybug. "We're gatecrashing."

Ladybug's eyes seemed to light up as she registered his arrival.

~ _GET THEM!_ ~ came Papillon's infuriated instruction.

With a displeased look upon her face, Ragtimitis leapt for them.

Ladybug spun-kicked her in the face. Again. It sent her flying.

In an absolutely surprising turn of events, the akuma got up _and tried to escape_ , scrambling away into the network of streets beyond.

"Well, that’s a patternbreaker," Ladybug was at a loss.

For a good fifteen seconds, Tigereye and Ladybug just stood in the square, eyes in the direction Ragtimitis had gone, dumbstruck by this complete curveball of an occurrence.

"I guess… we follow?" Tigereye offered, wondering if this was the first time something like this had happened.

"Yeah, yes. Sure." Ladybug slowly and haltingly reached for her yoyo, a perturbed look on her face.

Clearly, she had not encountered this before.

"Actually," she paused and took a look around, possibly searching for something. "Let's… let's plan before we go after her."

"Right, yes," Tigereye did the same, searching specifically for any sign of Marinette.

Ladybug nodded her head in the direction of the closest roof and together they leapt up to it.

"Okay," Ladybug pulled her yoyo to the news function, checking different channels on autopilot. "Regular scale, ground-based akuma with the powers of…"

"Era-based design regression?" he offered.

Ladybug gave him a look halfway between shock and amusement.

"Yeah," she smiled. "So, she's not killing anyone."

"Not directly," Tigereye agreed. "So what can we do?"

"I don't think getting her trapped will be a problem." Ladybug frowned. "It's the item I can't figure out. Did you see anything that might have had the akuma?"

"Nothing stood out." Luka shook his head. "What is the item usually?"

"Something personal to them or something to do with their powers." Ladybug replied. "Sometimes it's purple, even if nothing else on them is."

Tigereye leant into the yoyo and took a look at Ragtimitis' current location. He still saw nothing on her form that shouted 'here I am, it's me, I'm the akumatised item!'.

Luka abandoned the idea that it would be that easy, and turned to thoughts of her powers.

"She turns things back in time, right?" he asked aloud.

"Yep." Ladybug tapped her chin. "Seems to have some obsession with _les années folles_?"

"Oh, well, that explains the music." Tigereye nodded. "Swing. I mean, I like swing, but I like it less when its accompanied by a woman trying to kill me."

Ladybug giggled at this, and it eased Luka's mind a little, until he realised her giggle sounded like Marinette's, and the terror and worry that came with not knowing where she was flooded back to him.

Especially since she'd _punched_ the akuma. As impressive as that was, he'd already heard the supervillain proclaiming a target on her back.

What if Ragtimitis found her again? It didn't seem like her powers were capable of murder, all she could do was snap her fingers and make things look like they would have in the 20's, but akumas had strength and speed and -

Wait.

"The snap!" Tigereye exclaimed.

He looked down at the screen again. Ragtimitis was snapping only with her left hand.

The hand with the shorter, purple glove.

"It's the…" but, of course, as soon as he needed to say it out loud, Luka forgot the word for glove. "The…!"

"The what?" Ladybug asked.

Tigereye hissed in exasperation and threw his hands up in the air.

"HAND SOCKS!" he yelped.

"Hand socks?" Ladybug laughed, but Luka could tell she wasn't trying to be mean by the look in her eyes.

Tigereye pointed to his own black magic-fabric glove, his eyes pleading for her to recognize what it was he meant. He tugged at the cuff demonstratively, thinking maybe he could remove it, but it felt as though it was stuck to his skin.

This information both made him feel more secure in the suit and more anxious.

"Oh, gloves!" she exclaimed. "The left glove, the one she uses to snap! You're a genius…"

Ladybug trailed off as she realised she wasn't supposed to know Tigereye's name yet.

"Have you got a name yet?" she asked softly, and a little spot of naughty pride for not only already knowing the answer but also having been responsible for its conception bubbled up inside her.

"Tigereye." Tigereye said.

"Tigereye," Ladybug repeated. "You're a genius, Tigereye."

This sentence made Luka's heart speed up, but he really could not figure out why.

"Problem is…" his red spotted partner frowned. "How do we get it off her?"

"They’re generally indestructible, right?" he gave a quick mental run-through of every akuma he knew. "The only vulnerable part of them is the item."

"Just like us." Ladybug nodded. "But if the item is essentially her hand…"

Luka held up his right hand and contemplated. His idea was dangerous, and possibly deadly, but he didn’t see any other options.

"Ladybug…" he swallowed. "Have we ever used Cataclysm on a person before?"

She looked at his hand, and then his face.

"…No." she breathed.

The way she'd said it made Luka wonder if there was some conditional to that 'no', but Ladybug was infamous for saying only what she wanted to say.

Even, Adrien had told him, to her partner.

Luka shook his head of the uncertainty, but the answer didn't exactly leave him confident to begin with.

"Well," he chewed his lip. "Even if it… it's been reversed every time, right?"

"There was only one time it wasn't fixed." Ladybug crossed her arms. "Christmas five years ago. But that was because there was no akuma when Chat destroyed the… thing."

"Oh, that poster thingy? On that corner?" Tigereye remembered. "I've seen that. The city still won't replace it."

"I told them not to. The ground is cursed now, I think." Ladybug frowned. "Grass hasn't grown there since they removed the pieces, even though it grows in the pavement around it."

"Like… actually cursed?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." she mused. "I revisit that place all the time, and I feel it. That spot is full of Plagg's energy. It'll be the same for the Agreste mansion, after we destroyed the metal door."

Luka looked at his hand in a new light.

"This magic stuff is powerful, sometimes dangerous, and even we don't really understand it." Ladybug looked into the middle distance. "For now, nobody should mess with those places."

"So… the glove?" Luka swallowed.

"We'll try my Lucky Charm first," Ladybug said, and it was a low, quiet voice. "But if that brings nothing…"

She bit her lip and looked at his hand, speaking the next words in a way that told not of complacency and rationalisation, but, instead, fear and misery at the concept:

"It's one woman or the world."

And Luka looked at Ladybug in a new light.

===

The air felt heavy on Luka's shoulders as they made their way to the Louvre, where the akuma had stopped to look at art.

There was a lot on his mind.

Marinette was somewhere, unguarded and alone.

He'd just gotten a glimpse into the true depths of the power of the ring on his finger, and the kinds of things Ladybug and Adrien had been dealing with for six years.

On top of those, he knew that often people forgot things about their akumatizations, or just akumatizations in general.

Who knew what kinds of things Ladybug and Adrien knew that no-one else did?

Tigereye came up out of a tumble-roll and came to a stop beside Ladybug.

"Lucky Charm!" she spoke, tossing the yo-yo up a ways.

A black and red rubber duck fell from the air into her hands.

By the look on Ladybug's face, this was a confusing and unfortunate outcome.

Purely out of that strange human desire to do things like press buttons and fit things into slots for the mere sake of satisfaction, Tigereye reached over and poked the duck. It squeaked, and then he felt kind of silly.

But it did make Ladybug turn and give him an amused smile, and he thought that must count for something.

"So… plan?" he murmured.

"I'll drop this in front of the door," Ladybug chewed her lip. "If she notices it, it'll distract her long enough for you to swipe the glove."

"If I can't remove it?" Luka looked down to the entrance of the Louvre.

"Activate Cataclysm," she swallowed. "And focus on nothing but the glove."

Tigereye nodded and together, they leapt down.

===

It took all of two minutes for Ragtimitis to emerge from the doors of the Louvre, foot falling directly onto the well-placed magically-summoned bath toy.

She lifted her fancy heel and scowled down at the squished plastic duck, but by then, Tigereye had already darted from his hiding place and was touching the glove.

Within a millisecond he knew it wasn't going to shift, and by the time Ragtimitis registered his presence and turned to react, he'd whispered the name of Plagg's power, praying for all he was worth that the destructive magic halted at the glove.

There was a moment, as he watched blackness spread over the purple fabric, where Luka's heart definitely stopped.

Whether it started up again as the tainted butterfly emerged from betwixt his retreating fingers or as Ladybug's distant and muted voice called out it’s purification, he wasn't sure.

Through his strange cat ears he heard the heartbeat of the woman who had been the supervillain, but the fact that she was still alive didn't fix the fact that _he could have killed her_.

Tigereye stood deathly still as Ladybug tossed the rubber duck into the air, summoning a Cure.

He stayed still as she helped the victim to the arriving police escorts, and as she checked the area for further threat.

Ladybug seemed to pause as she noticed him.

She walked over.

"Tigereye?" she beckoned.

Luka currently did not have the capacity to talk, which was another thing that was common with him that very few people understood, and he could hardly explain if he couldn’t speak.

The only person who knew what to do when he got like this was Marinette.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Ladybug asked.

Tigereye swallowed and nodded weakly.

"Hey," she stepped close, and a beep sounded, signalling she had only two minutes left. "She didn't die, and everything's fine."

Luka couldn't look her in the eye.

"Head home." she told him. "I'll see you again soon."

And then she was gone.

A beep sounded from Adrien's ring, and Tigereye bounded into the skyline towards the square where he'd left the most important thing in the world.

And also his car and food, because he really shouldn't forget those.

===

Luka detransformed in the same alley he'd hidden in earlier, where he found August's doll on the ground. He shook his head and picked it up and pocketed it. The kid must have dropped it as they'd run.

Luka peeked his head out into the square. There were perhaps a hundred people milling about, some on their regular way and some trying to gather their bearings after the attack.

He headed for where he'd parked, hoping Marinette had found her way back to the van and they could just go home.

He had no such luck.

Marinette, her original outfit returned, was standing outside the grocery store, talking to August's mother.

Before he could decide whether to approach or just wait for her, she took a glance around and noticed him. After a quick word to her audience, she ran for him, and leapt into his arms.

Luka held her tight.

They had been caught by akumas together before. Or, rather, been parted by akumas before. Luka often lost Marinette in the chaos, only to find her after the ordeals were over.

Neither separating nor reuniting in such times ever got any easier.

"Are you okay?" she asked him as he lowered her to the ground again.

Luka was still unable to talk. He just swallowed and hoped the look he was giving would be enough to communicate.

"Oh." Marinette sighed and gave him a squeeze. "Will you be okay to drive?"

He nodded.

"Alright," she looked over her shoulder and bit her lip. "I should say goodbye to Gus. Do you want to wait in the van?"

Luka pretty much refused to let her out of his reach again.

Not after that.

He shook his head insistently, momentarily tightening his grip on her wrist, but then lost the courage to look her in the face. She was silent a moment, but then she moved her hand to lace her fingers with his.

"C'mon." Marinette whispered, smiling warmly. "I'll say goodbye and then we can go home."

She tugged at his hand, and Luka followed her, because of course he would. He would follow her anywhere.

"Sorry, about that," Marinette told the mother and child. "This is Luka."

"You saved my son." the woman told him. "I'll never be able to thank you enough."

Luka looked down at Marinette in worry.

"Luka has trouble with words sometimes." she answered for him. "But he'd say thank you if he could."

"Is he your boyfriend?" August asked innocently.

Marinette went wide-eyed and pink-cheeked, and looked at Luka for what felt a long time before replying.

"Yeah." she smiled.

Luka knew she was just saying it to avoid more questions, but he really couldn't help the warmth that spread in his chest.

What he wouldn't give for that answer to be true.

"We have to go home now," Marinette told Gus. "But I'll see you next month, ok?"

"Back to normal?" the kid asked.

"Back to normal." Marinette nodded.

Luka suddenly remembered the toy and fished it out of his pocket, holding it out to August.

Both August and Marinette looked at Luka with matching surprise and admiration, and he was almost ashamed of how good it made him feel to have done something that resulted in such reactions.

August took the doll and his mother waved goodbye, and Luka and Marinette walked back to the van in quiet, hands still clasped.

===

For the entire drive home, Luka didn't let go of Marinette's hand for longer than it took to shift gears in the van.

He did let her have her hand back so they could carry the bags upstairs, but took it again while they put away their purchases, which resulted in some gentle collisions and general klutziness in the kitchen area.

Luka still had endless gratitude for Marinette's endless patience.

Once everything was finally done, he pulled her close again.

"Is this cause I left?" Marinette asked him, very quietly.

Luka could only nod, his face buried in her shoulder.

"I came back," she told him, a hand stroking his hair. "And we're home now. We're safe, and everything is okay."

"You punched a supervillain." Luka murmured in something like awe, finally regaining his ability to speak.

"She was going to hurt you, what else was I gonna do?" Marinette replied, tone as though putting herself in harms' way at all, ever, was a simple and fine thing to do.

"But you can't do that," Luka shifted his head so his face was against her neck. "You can't fight an akuma by yourself."

"I think today proves I can." she retorted playfully, shifting a little against him.

"No." he told her. "You're not allowed."

She pulled back from him, to see his face, fingers still playing in his hair, and the expression she wore could be described as nothing but soft.

"It's nice of you to worry," Marinette whispered. "But I can't stand by and do nothing."

Her fingers crept from his hair around to his cheeks.

"Especially if it's you in danger out there."

And she closed her eyes, and though there wasn't much space between their lips, it still felt like an eternity between when she began to move closer and-

"MARINETTE?!" came a yelp from the bedroom.

The cry startled both of them, and after a quick glance, Marinette and Luka made for the door.

"What, what?" Marinette asked. "What's wrong?"

"Oh!" Adrien looked up from her borrowed phone, clearly panicked. "Oh, you're home, sorry, I- wait, no, Marinette…"

"What?!" she begged.

"Did you punch an akuma?!" Adrien demanded, turning the phone screen to them.

Somehow, someone had filmed her defending Luka and August in the square. The camera had been close enough to show her face and the punch, but far enough away that no words had been clear over the loud jazzy music.

"Yeah," Marinette laughed nervously.

"Marinette!" Adrien scolded, dropping the phone to the mattress. "You can't do that!"

"See!" Luka jumped in, turning to Adrien. "Tell her! Tell her she's not allowed to go fighting akumas!"

"You most certainly _are not_!" Adrien crossed his arms.

"Two against one?" Marinette chided, trying to ease the situation with humour. "That's not fair."

"You know what's not fair?" Luka raised his eyebrows. "Trying to defend against a supervillain when you have no superpowers!"

"I could have superpowers!" Marinette said smugly. "You don't know me!"

" _Au contraire, ma cherie_ ," Adrien snipped. "I'd say we know you _quite_ well."

"Perhaps," she grinned. "But even if you don't know all my strengths, I sure as hell know all your weaknesses."

Her blue eyes, full of mischief, landed on Luka, and the mood of the conversation passed the point of no return into banter territory.

"You wouldn't…" he swallowed, looking amused and terrified at the same time.

"Wouldn't I?" she began to close in on him.

"Marinette, please, we have a guest," Luka tried to back away, but the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed and he fell. "Oh, no…"

Before Adrien could guess what would happen next, Marinette bent over Luka and attacked him with her fingers, tickling him relentlessly.

And Adrien watched in entertained disbelief, until Luka burst into laughter, which sent him dumbstruck, because Luka's laugh was _beautiful_.

It was clear and bright and loud, and a little higher pitched than his speaking voice, and Adrien found himself in love with it.

"MERCY!" Luka choked out as Marinette hovered above him. "MERCY, MERCY, PLEASE!"

Marinette positioned herself on the bed so she didn't have to lean.

" _Adrien, help_!" Luka begged.

As entranced as Adrien was with the sounds of joy currently coming out of his friend, he felt like he should probably try to help, so he reached out and grabbed Marinette around the waist and pulled her away.

"No!" she complained, wriggling in an attempt to get free, but she was smiling all the same.

Luka's laughter died down, and as he sat up it produced a little snort, which made him freeze up and go red in the face.

By the tiny gasp and growing smile on Marinette's face, it was as endearing to her as it was to Adrien.

Luka looked at their faces for a moment, and then snatched a pillow to hide his own under, flopping back.

"Aw, no," Marinette squirmed against Adrien's hold again. "Luka, no, c'mon…"

Luka groaned from under the pillow.

"Adrien, please," Marinette tapped his arm twice.

"Right, sorry," Adrien released her.

"Luka," She beckoned, crawling over the bed and tugging at the pillow. "Luka, c'mon, you know I love your laugh."

Luka said nothing and kept the pillow firmly pressed to his face.

Marinette gave a sad little pout and sat back. She looked to Adrien and then back down to Luka, searching for something to remedy the situation.

"If it helps at all," Adrien offered loudly. "I like his laugh, too."

Marinette's bright smile returned full force.

Luka lifted one half of the pillow to peek out. Adrien gave him what he hoped was a warm smile.

"Oh, can someone take me to have a shower, please?" Adrien said suddenly. "Wait, bath, right."

"I'll take you in a second." Marinette nodded. "But, first…"

She tugged at the pillow twice, and Luka let her take it and toss it away. Then she put both hands on his arm and pulled him up. Luka gave no resistance and Marinette gave him a big hug. Adrien caught the hints of a tiny smile appearing on Luka's face.

Adrien would have joined the hug himself, but after last night and whatever had happened this morning, he wasn't sure it was such a good idea to touch Luka again at all. The smile that had been resting on his own face fell and he began to feel bad again.

Marinette kissed Luka's cheek and then untangled from him to take Adrien to the bathroom.

Adrien asked to be alone in the bath for a while, but not because he wanted to be.

===

"I think he's still sad about this morning," Marinette whispered to Luka when she passed the bedroom door on the way to the kitchen.

"Not this morning," Luka sighed, looking in the direction of the bathroom and getting worried. "Last night."

"What happened last night?" Marinette asked.

"Adrien found my… less-obvious piercings." Luka blushed.

"Oh!" Marinette almost-laughed, but stopped herself. "Oh…"

"It looked like he'd never seen any before." Luka chewed his lip. "I think he thinks I'm mad at him."

"No, he's not afraid of you, specifically. He feels guilty," she looked in the direction of the bathroom. "He just needs reassuring."

"I tried, but I don't think it was enough." Luka frowned. 

"If I sleep with you guys tonight, I might be able to help him." Marinette sighed.

"It's worth a shot, right?" Luka said, trying to keep hidden how much he actually liked that idea and hoped that it would work.

Luka wanted Adrien to be comfortable and happy, and if Marinette could help, he would love nothing more.

===

After dinner, Marinette suggested they all watch a movie together. 

For two hours, the three of them sat on the couch, watching the miserably small TV in the corner play _The Road To El Dorado_ , but Adrien found that watching his roommates was a little more interesting.

He watched Marinette, and how her eyes reacted to the screen, and through the whole movie he could tell she was taking notes of the all the colors and shapes and backgrounds, all the visual design there was to see in it.

Luka, however, reacted to the music. Often his fingers would tap to the beat of a track or play invisible chords in the progressions of a song. During one song in particular, Luka took a long glance at Marinette.

This was the first time Adrien had noticed that look, but it would be far from the last, and he would not know what it meant for a long time.

By the time the credits began rolling, Luka had fallen asleep, leaning on his arm on the side of the couch.

Marinette, who had been slowly inching into his side, was also drifting off.

"Mari," Adrien whispered, trying not to wake Luka.

"Mm?" Marinette replied drowsily, sitting up a little.

"I think it's time we went to bed." Adrien told her, giving a little nod in Luka's direction.

Marinette looked over and upon seeing her snoozing roommate, gave a little sigh and smiled.

"I'll take him first, then come back for you," she told Adrien.

Before he could ask what she meant, Marinette scooped Luka up as if he wasn't a whole foot taller than her, and carried him with very little effort into the bedroom.

Adrien knew that Marinette was strong, but he couldn’t help but be impressed.

With just a tad more effort this time, Marinette carried Adrien in and sat him down on the edge of the bed.

"I'll get a few things sorted, and I'll be back in in a bit." she said. "Get comfy."

"Okay," Adrien whispered, dragging his cast up onto the mattress and removing his shorts.

He looked at Luka, who had rolled toward the wall and nuzzled into his pillow, and hoped they would all fit. Of course he knew they would, since they had before, he just hoped he wouldn't squish Luka too much during the night.

Marinette returned with hair down, wearing Luka's big hoodie and turning off the lounge light on her way in.

"All good?" she asked, approaching the bed.

Adrien nodded and lay down.

Marinette sat and wriggled under the sheets and lay down beside him.

"Would you like a hug?" she rolled over to ask.

"Please," Adrien opened his arms in acceptance.

She held him and he held her and it felt warm and right and good.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked, her thumb brushing a spot on his neck that sent tingles down his spine.

"I don't know what you mean," Adrien lied, badly.

"C'mon, Adrien," Marinette coaxed. "Luka told me why you were sad today."

"He did?" Adrien whispered.

"He's worried about you," she told him.

Adrien bit his lip.

"Adrien," Marinette nuzzled his cheek. "It's okay."

"But I…" he looked away from her face.

"We're…" she took a quick breath, clearly nervous, and he felt it on his skin. "We're not your dad, Adrien."

This startled him, and he looked into her eyes, but she seemed so sure, so calm, now.

"We're not your dad," Marinette repeated gently. "We're not going to stop loving you if you make a mistake."

Adrien wanted to argue, to tell her that that wasn't true, or maybe that it shouldn't be, or that even if it was now, it might not be one day when he made a worse mistake.

But as he opened his mouth, Luka moved behind him, rolling over and snuggling into his back.

"See?" Marinette gave the lightest of chuckles. "Luka still trusts you."

Adrien was right on the edge of being able to believe that it was true after all.

"You don’t have to worry, Adrien." Marinette kissed his cheek. "Everything is okay now."

"Thank you," Adrien whispered and pulled her closer and hugged her tighter.

And she gave his forehead a kiss, like she often did with Chat Noir, and Adrien let himself fall asleep.

===

Luka didn't remember falling asleep, but he was certainly not complaining about waking up being a big spoon to Adrien, his head nestled in the crook of Adrien's neck and arms hugging him snugly.

Marinette was on the other side of Adrien, and she looked pretty much divine. She lay comfortably, still peacefully asleep, wearing his hoodie and tangled in Adrien's arms. The sunlight from the window was only a paled reflection from the neighbor's building, and bathed in it, she looked like a messy-haired angel.

Luka thought this easily made it to the top spot of his list of Best Wakeups Ever.

For a good few minutes, nothing happened, and Luka almost fell asleep again.

Until a phone went off.

This stirred everyone in the bed.

Marinette, being the only one who could reach the bedside table, answered.

"Marinette speaking," she said before yawning. "How can I help?"

Luka noticed Adrien was staring before he noticed what he was staring at.

By a beautiful combination of Marinette's position, the way she'd shifted when retrieving the phone, where the zip on the hoodie had been, and gravity, both boys were currently being blessed with a stunning view - the slightest peek of side boob.

"Oh, this is Luka's phone, yeah." Marinette rubbed her eyes with a sweater paw. "He's not up yet, but I can take a message."

Some unintelligible chatter of the other end of the phone.

Luka and Adrien exchanged glances as well as they could without moving their heads.

Marinette then sat up, and the sight that had caused both of their brains to freeze in space and time was lost to them.

As soon as they felt like they could breathe again, Marinette stood up, and under the slightly lifted hem of the hoodie, they saw the curve of her butt where it met her thighs before she pulled the hem down for comfort.

She left the room, saying something about "plenty of time".

By the time Adrien and Luka regained mental functions, it was too late.

"I know you can feel that," Luka whispered as Adrien's cheeks warmed against his. "And I am _so_ sorry."

"I'm in the same boat right now anyway." came Adrien's gulping reply. "Don't sweat it."

"I'm just gonna…" Luka carefully disconnected himself from Adrien and laid on his back and put his face in his hands. "Mmm…"

Marinette then returned to the room.

"Morning," she hummed happily. "Feel like staying in bed a little longer?"

Luka nodded against his better judgement. Thankfully, his jeans were hiding the unfortunate side effect of her sleepwear.

Marinette crawled up between him and Adrien and snuggled into Luka's side.

"Hey!" Adrien complained, wanting cuddles but not wanting to roll over.

"You had me all night," Marinette nuzzled Luka's cheek. "Luka can have me for five minutes before he has to get up for work."

"Shit, that was the studio?" Luka panicked a little.

"You don't have to be there for two hours." she told him gently. "You have time."

Luka settled at this information, and he took a deep breath and let himself enjoy his roommate's presences until he had to get up.

===

Luka said goodbye, closed the door, and headed down the hall.

Before he made it to the stairs, Plagg emerged from his hood and floated before his face.

Luka stopped dead, a little terrified.

Plagg said nothing for a while.

"Plagg?" Luka breathed.

"You saved that child." the kwami said.

Plagg was expressionless, and if there had been a tone in his voice, Luka hadn't picked it up.

"Well, yeah, he was in danger." Luka took a glance around. "Sh-should I not have, or something?"

"I didn’t say that." Plagg blinked.

Luka waited, but a good thirty seconds passed and the black spirit neither moved nor spoke.

"Do…" Luka swallowed. "Are you gonna say something about it?"

Plagg blinked again, then gave a little sigh and a heavy shrug.

"All I have to say is…" he grumbled. "…Kid could have picked a worse stand-in, I guess."

Luka's face lit up with what was the closest thing to a compliment he'd ever received, or even could imagine receiving, from the spirit cat.

"Don't make that face at me." Plagg frowned. "Now move it, or you're gonna be late."

Luka's smile fell and he got just the tiniest bit scared again, but Plagg floated back to his hood without comment or incident, and somehow, that tiny encounter in the hallway left Luka's mood bright for the entire rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so heres chapter 14 and a warning that i'm still not quite of of he woods yet but i refuse to abandon this fic so keep urselfes on the lookout for new chapters, but blease be patient with me i am only one human,,,,
> 
> anyway enjoy....


	15. Chapter 15

Adrien had only lived in this apartment for a couple of days, but he was already too familiar with the carved pattern in its ceiling.

Marinette had gotten dressed and made breakfast and hugged Luka goodbye and helped Adrien out to the couch and then told him she needed to get some things from the bakery and practically rushed out the door.

And Adrien was left with nothing to do. Again.

Marinette returned within the hour with two big roller suitcases.

"What, uh," Adrien prodded curiously. "Whatcha got in those?"

"My vacuum cleaner," Marinette tugged them into the corner beside the couch, near Luka's music equipment. "Some books and movies, and some more clothes for you, um…"

She tapped her finger to her chin, trying to remember something.

"Oh, and copies of your classwork." she smiled at him, kneeling down to unzip them. "I can't move my computer, so you can do it on paper and I'll type it up later."

Adrien was silent for a moment as he processed everything Marinette had just said.

"I have… several questions," he spoke as she pulled out a pile of fabrics.

"Go ahead," she encouraged.

He really had not expected her to offer to answer.

"Uh," he baulked a little, unprepared. "Wh-why do you have a vacuum cleaner?"

"Luka doesn't have one." she shrugged, like that explained everything.

Adrien only blinked.

"You need to vacuum carpets to keep them clean," Marinette gave a little sigh. "Dust and dirt and mud and stuff get stuck in it and you don’t want to be breathing that in, so you vacuum."

"I feel like I should have known that." Adrien frowned at the floor.

"Well, you had cleaners in the mansion, right?" Marinette brushed a hair out of her face. "You just never had to think about it before. It's okay."

"Second question," Adrien thought for a moment. "How did you get clothes for me?"

"I-I…" she went red and stuttery right off the bat, and Adrien felt a little nostalgic. "I ma-made them…"

"Wh- really?" he asked. "Why?"

"Not for you, for someone else," Marinette looked away, slowly curled into herself, and then panicked. "Not that I haven't made anything for you, or that I wouldn't, but just that I made these shirts, specifically, for someone else, but-!"

"Easy, Mari, easy," Adrien reached for her even though he was too far away. "I got you, it's okay."

She took a deep breath and smiled, and then looked at the pile of fabrics in her hand before offering them to him.

He took the first item off the top of the pile. It was a black button up shirt with a green paw print embroidered on the breast pocket.

"I made them for… someone I know, who's about your size," Marinette fidgeted with the other three shirts in the pile. "They were… going to be a gift."

"Oh," Adrien felt a little guilty.

"Don't worry," she smiled. "He… he didn't know I'd made them, but I know he would know you need them."

Adrien put on the shirt. It was soft to the touch and fit really well.

The others in the pile were two t-shirts and a long-sleeved vee-neck. All of them were black or grey with splashes or accents of green.

"You're a saint, Marinette." he sighed, taking the pile into his own arms. "What did I do to deserve you?"

Marinette went pink and chuckled.

"If I'm a saint, you're an angel." she teased.

It was Adrien's turn to giggle and blush.

Marinette fished around in the suitcases again and handed him a stack of papers.

"That’s all your homework for this semester." she said. "And all my notes from Marketing, just… just in case they help."

Adrien took the stack, which was an inch thick.

"Mari," he stared at it in disbelief. "I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything," she cocked her head.

"No, this…" Adrien held the papers close. "This is a lot of effort you went to, and… I feel like I should do something to repay you, or…"

"Adrien, it's okay." Marinette smiled. "I like helping."

"Fine, but don't think I won't find some way to thank you," he warned playfully.

Marinette only rolled her eyes and gave him the look she sometimes gave him that he never understood.

"Alright." she clapped her hands together. "I'm gonna vacuum. Is it okay if you put your legs up on the couch for a bit?"

"Oh, yeah," Adrien replied, and lifted his broken leg up to the cushions and then the other.

"This is going to be loud." Marinette warned from by the power plug as she connected the vacuum cord.

It _was_ loud, but that wasn't the biggest problem.

The sound was terrifying. He had never heard it before, and it was a nightmare - several different notes and pitches and tones melding together in a deafening discordant whine that had every fibre of Adrien's being begging to get as far away from it as possible.

He sat deathly still on the couch, but only because he knew moving wouldn't do much. If both his legs worked he would have been halfway across the city by now, and with the way the noise changed and travelled as the awful machine moved about the floor, he was tempted to make a break for it with only his arms, like he had when he'd resolved to make it to the roof.

Eventually, Marinette moved into the bedrooms and down the hall, and far enough away that Adrien's breathing started up again.

Then, thankfully, she turned the thing off.

She packed it back in the suitcase, humming the tune of _We Built This City_ , which left him conflicted. Half of him was appalled at her casual attitude after such a terrible ordeal, and the other wanted to enjoy her voice and the song.

He made a note to ask her and Luka for some songs to listen to. Then he wondered what he was going to listen to music with after he'd wrecked his phone.

Adrien asked Marinette if she had a pen.

"Why?" she asked in return as she handed him the pen and notepad Luka kept around.

"I'm gonna buy us some things." Adrien said.

"Oh, are you sure?" Marinette blinked.

"I have to buy a new phone and a laptop anyway," Adrien jotted those down. "So I may as well buy a bunch of stuff at once."

Marinette opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the key in the door.

Luka entered, speaking on the phone held to his ear with his shoulder.

"Aye, ma," he nodded, smiling, eyes not focused on anything. "Aye, ma."

Marinette mouthed ' _maman_ ' to Adrien and smiled over at Luka.

"Aye, ma," Luka shook his head and brought his guitar case over to the equipment corner. "Nae, ma."

Adrien heard speech on the other end of the phone, but it wasn’t English, nor was it French.

He was doubly stunned when Luka responded with words he didn’t recognize.

"Which language is that?" Adrien whispered to Marinette.

"Scottish Gaelic," Marinette whispered back. "What Luka's mom speaks most of the time."

Adrien looked back to Luka, who had made his way back to the kitchen and was digging in the fridge.

"He's telling her he's home now," Marinette whispered. "And that he'll talk to her later."

Adrien raised an eyebrow at her and she giggled.

"I've picked up a few words." she shrugged nervously. "Mostly 'home', 'dinner', 'little' and 'love'. Those are the ones they use every time they talk."

"Love?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, 'love'." Marinette replied.

Adrien nodded.

Luka hung up and sighed and poured a glass of juice.

Marinette walked over to him as he returned the carton to the fridge.

"How was the session?" she probed.

Luka turned to her, a huge grin growing on his face, and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up in excitement.

"Company ad," he told her.

This was, apparently, fantastic news, as Marinette lit up despite the brevity of the message.

"How long, how long?!" she asked.

"Three months minimum." Luka said.

"Yes!!!" Marinette exclaimed put her hands up, but they touched the ceiling before they got very far.

The two laughed a little and he put her down.

"Luka, that's amazing," she hugged him tight. "I'm so happy for you! Adrien, isn't that cool?"

Adrien had not quite followed that conversation, and though he couldn't in good spirit say it was like they had been speaking another language, he could say that he'd understood it exactly as much as he would if they had been, which was to say, not at all.

"Sorry," he swallowed. "But I don't really know what you guys were saying."

"Oh," Luka gave a little sigh and glanced down at Marinette in his arms. "I never explained my job to you, huh?"

"Nope," Adrien shook his head.

"Uh, okay, well," Luka chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment. "I am a Contract Sound Supplier, which is the fancy way of saying I'm the guy they pay to play four seconds of different instruments to be made into music later for companies who can't be bothered hiring full bands."

"Oh, like what Nino does?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, I work with him." Luka nodded, reaching out for his earlier abandoned juice and took a sip. "I give the recordings, Nino puts the tracks together."

"So when you said company ad…?" Adrien prodded.

"Companies pay a lot to have unique music to put in their advertisements so they don’t have to pay for rights," Luka rolled his eyes. "It’s just generic shit, but I get paid for every second stuff I played is aired, so I'm not complaining."

"Wow," Adrien smiled. "Sounds like a sweet deal."

"Yeah, I am _so_ lucky to have this job." Luka sighed happily, and looked down to Marinette again. "I'm lucky to have a lot of things."

Marinette gave him a look. For a couple of seconds, they seemed to have a conversation with only expressions, and Adrien was almost too entranced watching it to notice that he couldn't figure out what it was they were communicating to one another.

Then Luka made an expression even Adrien could understand, and Marinette scoffed and played offended and wriggled out of Luka's grasp to disappear into the spare room.

Luka tisked and grinned and shook his head.

"What was that all about?" Adrien asked.

"Oh, shit, sorry," Luka chuckled nervously. "Uh… don’t worry, it wasn't important."

Luka then chugged the rest of his juice.

"Alright," Marinette came out of her room wearing a different outfit, her red and white sundress. "I'm going to lunch."

"Oh, my," Luka teased, a hand to his face in false dramatics. "Who are we trying to impress today?"

"You know very well I don't need this to impress anyone." Marinette shot back as she got to the door.

"It's Monday," Adrien crossed his arms, slightly smug at finally knowing something about Marinette that Luka seemed not to. "Tell Kagami I said hi."

"I think she'd rather hear it directly from you," Marinette told him, halfway past the threshold. "But I'll try to explain why that's not possible right now. You guys play nice while I'm gone!"

"Always." Adrien nodded, and then the door closed.

Luka put his phone on charge and stepped away from the counter, but turned back as it immediately began to ring.

_Hands up, suddenly we all got our hands up,_  
_No control of my body,_  
_Ain't I seen you before?_  
_Think I'd remember those eyes, eyes, eyes-_

And it was then that Luka, looking quite distressed and a little embarrassed, answered.

"Nino, what's…" Luka avoided eye contact with Adrien, but Adrien couldn't guess why. "What's up?"

Then his body language went from nervous to concerned.

"No, she… she just left," Luka frowned. "Wh… why?"

Adrien watched Luka switch again, from concerned to _afraid_.

"Y-yeah, man," Luka swallowed. "Just knock when you make it to the door."

Luka put the phone down and back on charge, and his hands were shaking.

"Luka?" Adrien asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Nino wants to talk," Luka spoke with an odd tone of voice. "I don't think it's good."

"Like how not good?" Adrien sat up a little, his easy mood gone.

"Like… miraculous not-good." Luka swallowed. "Someone in the studio mentioned that your dad's security system can't be fixed after I ruined the door. Nino said he wanted to talk about it."

"The ruined door specifically?" Adrien whispered.

"There was nothing else it coulda been." Luka stepped around the kitchen bar towards the couch, moving past the front door as if it was going to reach out and bite him. "What do we do?"

Adrien had no idea.

Before Luka could get to him, and before he could even begin to think about anything, the knock at the door made them both freeze.

With looks exchanged, the boys held their breaths as Luka opened the door.

"Mari still not home?" Nino asked immediately.

"Sh-she's at lunch," Luka spoke softly, managing not to look terrified.

"Good." Nino looked over to Adrien. "I need to talk to you two."

Luka stepped back and Nino walked in and made his way towards the couch. Luka closed the door, maybe too quickly, and followed.

"Nino, what's this about?" Adrien asked.

"This is about the ring on your finger," Nino pointed to Luka, and then to Adrien. "That should be on his."

Luka thought quickly. He had been told: under no circumstances was anyone allowed to find out who they were. He snagged a concept out of thin air and ran with it. 

"Is that supposed to be a metaphor, or something?" Luka grabbed onto the idea and wrung it for all it was worth. "For, like, my relationship with Marinette?"

"Dude," Nino gave an unimpressed look. "C'mon, no. You know that isn't it."

"Well, I don't know what else you could possibly mean," Adrien backed Luka up, but neither were good actors under pressure, and it was only a matter of time before Nino called them out.

"Guys, denial will work on literally anyone but me." Nino sighed. "I already know it's you two. Work with me here."

"Us two?" Luka glanced at Adrien, trying to keep the secret as long as possible.

"Ok, A plus for effort," Nino shook his head. "But we should really work on your tact."

He reached into his pocket and fished out a box of camembert.

"Plagg, I have a whole wheel for you." Nino huffed. "Come on out."

Nothing happened for a good moment, and Adrien and Luka considered whether it would be better to try to convince Nino he was wrong or concede.

"I know you probably just said that to make your point," Plagg's voice emerged from behind Luka's head. "But I'm glad to see you make good on your word, Goggles."

"How ya been?" Nino smiled at the little black spirit.

"Oh, it's been awful," Plagg complained woefully, tugging the box of cheese down and placing himself on the couch between Nino and Adrien's legs. "You have no idea what these idiots have put me through."

Adrien and Luka just stared for a moment.

"Adrien's been yelling at me, and threatening me," Plagg practically wailed between mouthfuls of expensive cheese. "And I'm suffocating in that awful hood all day. This man's shampoo is terrible, it does _nothing_ for his dandruff-"

Adrien said a very unsavoury word in Mandarin. Luka did the same in Scottish. The two loud angry words collided in mid-air and made Plagg put a little flipper to his heart in mock-offence.

"Alright, alright, we get it," Nino rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he was smiling. "You're horribly inconvenienced by this turn of events."

" _Finally_ , someone understands." Plagg said, tone sarcastic. "Why couldn't you have given me to Goggles, huh?"

"You know exactly why he…" Nino stopped and sighed. "Just… eat your cheese."

He looked back to Adrien and Luka.

They were anxious, above all. Eyes full of fear and concern, brows furrowed, Luka's hands shaking at his sides and Adrien's breaths a little deeper than normal.

"Chill," Nino spoke softly. It wasn't a scold, nor was it an order, but a reassurance. "I'm not ratting you out to the police or anything."

"How…" Adrien choked out. "How did you know?"

"Uh," Nino found himself stuck on that one, and after a moment of thought, said: "This conversation is going to be tricky."

" _Finding us out_ was supposed to be tricky, but you did that." Luka pointed out.

Nino grimaced.

"Right, okay, no, I get it, I get it." Luka put his hands up in defence. "Just… just tell us what you can, dude."

Nino looked to Adrien and back to Luka.

"Because you guys are my best friends?" he raised his eyebrows. "And I've known you long enough to recognize you under the magic?"

"Well, that's not gonna hold up in court." Luka joked.

Adrien and Nino's resulting expressions made him backtrack immediately.

"Sorry," Luka managed to feel even worse. "But, seriously, you can’t have just guessed."

"Alright, fine," Nino admitted. "I did already suspect Adrien, but… it was your story, at drinks the other night."

"I left out all the miraculous stuff," Luka reasoned.

"You did," Nino nodded. "But you admitted to breaking into the mansion. And the police report came out today, and it wasn't some civilian who broke in, it was Ladybug and her new mystery partner."

For the umpteenth time in recent days, Luka cursed his drunk self.

"Add that to Adrien's leg, you guys suddenly being super close even though you haven't hung out alone for more than a day before now, and Mari?" Nino shook his head. "Once the photo came out it was all over."

"Wait," Adrien blurted. "Photo? What photo?"

"Etta finally got a clear photo of you for the Ladyblog." Nino told Luka.

"Finally?" Luka frowned. "I've been out at least three times, why only now?"

"Both your akuma appearances were mostly rooftop action." Nino sat back a little. "Even high quality photos from that distance can have plausible deniability, especially since they were mostly evening or night-time. The suits aren't too different, and even if they caught your hair, it's entirely possible Chat just got a dye job."

Adrien conceded that.

"But a broad-daylight front-angle waist-up shot?" Nino shook his head. "No denying that, dude."

Adrien's chest tightened and Luka swallowed.

"You might get cat eyes," Nino looked between them. "But miraculouses don't change your eye color."

A slight pause that weighed heavy despite the obnoxious chewing noises coming from the kwami.

"The second I saw they were blue, I knew it was you, man." Nino swallowed. "It all just clicked."

Luka let out a breath and put his hand to his face. Adrien was bouncing his leg.

The silence was one of uncertainty.

"Look," Nino said. "You know I won't tell anyone."

Adrien nodded.

"But you guys have to be more careful from now on, okay?" Nino warned. "Public enemy number one has eyes and ears everywhere."

Nino stood up and Adrien flinched by sheer virtue of how on-edge he was.

"Call me if you need anything for this stuff." he told them resolutely. "Anything. You can count on me."

He proceeded to hug them both and then made for the door.

Adrien and Luka looked at one another, wondering if they should say anything.

Nino reached the door and paused.

"Listen," he said, not turning around. "This identity shit… it already fucked up one relationship."

Luka and Adrien were dumbstruck, because they knew what Nino was implying, but could not fathom how it could possibly be true.

"We all love Mari," Nino turned his head just a little. "We all _know_ Mari. And we all know she's way smarter than all of us."

Adrien nodded.

"So, whatever you do," Nino put his hand on the doorknob. "Be careful with her."

"Promise." Luka said.

And then Nino was gone.

===

Halfway down the stairs, Nino crossed paths with Marinette.

"Oh, Nino!" she lit up, offering a hug. "Did you come to see the boys?"

"Yeah," he embraced her. "Just work stuff."

"You didn't want to stay for dinner?" Marinette offered. "I'm doing chicken, there'll be plenty?"

"No thanks," Nino smiled. "I gotta check in with my boss."

"Alright," she kissed his cheek and parted from him. "You get home safe!"

"You bet, dudette," Nino smiled, speaking only to himself as he continued down the stairs.

===

"Adrien, don't-" Luka's voice sounded as Marinette reached for the doorknob.

"You can't stop me," Adrien's voice replied.

"No-" Luka made a little noise of effort. "Dude!"

"My arms are longer than yours~," Adrien teased.

Marinette opened the door. Luka was on top of Adrien on the couch, pawing in the air at his phone as Adrien held it out and away from them both.

Relieved that they were not actually fighting, Marinette greeted them gently.

"Hey, Mari!" Adrien waved with his free hand.

Seeing his chance, Luka made a lunge for the phone, lost his balance and fell to the floor.

Marinette suppressed her laughter, dropped her purse and immediately went to help him, but Luka popped up to his knees, face indignant, and went for the phone again.

Adrien's resulting laughter came out hollow as Luka's face squished against his, reaching frantically for the device.

"Give," Luka demanded.

"No," Adrien shot back, the grin clear in his voice.

" _Give_ ," Luka repeated, pressing harder and waving his hand faster.

"No!" Adrien laughed. "You can’t stop me, Luka, just let it happen."

" _No_!" Luka challenged. "You're not spending that much money!"

"Yeah, I am," Adrien pressed a button on the phone screen and looked back to Luka with an incredibly smug expression.

Luka scowled adorably, and gestured for the phone.

Adrien conceded, still smug, but he wasn't so smug after Luka stashed the phone in his pocket and grabbed Adrien around the torso and dragged him down.

"Watch the leg!" Marinette yelped, but it seemed Luka was moving in a way that was specifically careful.

With an audible 'oof', Adrien thudded to the floor.

"I'll help you back up when you apologize." Luka crossed his arms.

"What did he do?" Marinette asked incredulously.

"I bought us a TV," Adrien informed with a smile, crossing his arms like Luka had, simply amused by this turn of events.

"You what?" Marinette blinked, switching tones from playful to concerned, and lowered to her knees to ask her next question. "Adrien, you didn't buy a whole TV?"

"No, I bought it in separate parts and im going to build it myself." Adrien teased, and pointed at the small TV in the corner. "C'mon, that thing is tiny, and I can afford a way better one, so I bought one."

"How much did you spend?" Marinette gulped.

"Not much." Adrien shrugged. "About 600 bucks?"

Luka made a choking noise.

"Dude!" he leant over him. "I can't pay that back, especially not after-!"

"I'm not asking you to," Adrien sat up with almost no effort and gave him a gentle smile. "It's a gift."

Luka gave a pained expression.

"Relax," Adrien reached out and hugged him to his side. "We've got bigger problems than how much money I've spent on you."

Luka sighed and nodded, his expression less than impressed, but, at the same time, accepting. Adrien smiled.

Marinette felt a similar smile creep across her face.

"How's Kagami?" Adrien asked her.

"She's good, she wants to see you once you're able to leave the house again." Marinette shrugged. "But we couldn't talk a whole lot with her bodyguard hanging around."

"Was that what it was like with me?" Adrien asked, his smile evaporating.

"A little, but it's much better now." Marinette reassured, joining the hug on his other side. "I finally get to touch you."

A single second passed before she backtracked.

"I MEAN-"

Luka reached across and put his finger to her lips, an amused smile on his face and that look in his eyes.

"We know, Mari." Adrien nuzzled her. "We know what you meant."

Marinette gave a nervous chuckle.

The hug went on a minute or two more in peaceful silence, and it dissolved only when Adrien asked to be put back on the couch because his butt was beginning to hurt.

But the three of them didn't stop smiling until well after dinner.

===

After he and Adrien were finally ready to sleep, Luka reflected on the day and threw himself face down on the bed, causing Adrien to flinch just the slightest amount.

"Luka?" Adrien rolled to face him. "You okay?"

Luka only groaned into the pillow in response.

"You're… you're not… still mad about the TV, are you?" Adrien whispered.

"What? No," Luka shifted to look at him. "I mean, I still can't believe you did it, but I'm not mad at you."

"Wh… what's wrong then?" Adrien asked.

"Did you forget Nino came by today?" Luka raised an eyebrow.

"No, I didn't," Adrien sighed.

A short silence passed before he took a breath and continued softly.

"I just…didn't want to think about it. It's… scary."

Luka shuffled a little closer, sensing that his bedmate needed emotional support.

"Secret identities were supposed to stay secret." Adrien whispered, looking… frightened. "I was never told what to do if anyone ever found me out. Would people hate me? Would my ring be taken away?"

Luka watched as Adrien's breathing got faster. The mood in the room quickly shifted from one of mild unease to one of fear and uncertainty.

"What would happen to Ladybug?" Adrien closed his eyes tight. "To Marinette? To Nino, and you, and Plagg, and Paris? Papillon won't stop, he'll go after the whole world to get the miraculouses if he has to!"

Luka reached out and curled his arms around Adrien as soon as he realised he was shaking.

"Keeping my identity secret was the one thing I was never allowed to mess up," Adrien whimpered. "And I did anyway, I-"

"It wasn't your fault." Luka interrupted softly. "It was the driver, you know that."

"But, I-" Adrien's already weak voice died midway.

"And it was me who told Nino too much," Luka frowned. "So it's my fault, too."

"Luka-," Adrien choked out, but his bedmate wouldn't have it.

"But it still wasn't you." Luka pressed. "It wasn't your fault, and I will keep saying that until you believe me."

Adrien opened one green eye, welling with tears.

"And maybe it's just cause I'm the 'new guy', or just cause I'm not smart enough to know any better," Luka whispered, putting his forehead to Adrien's. "But you managed to keep the secret this long and that's impressive, I think."

Adrien swallowed and sniffed and a single tear leaked onto the bridge of his nose.

"But you have me now," Luka told him, carefully reaching up to wipe away the tear with a fingertip. "And we can do this together."

Adrien sniffed again.

"I just have to keep my big dumb mouth shut." Luka huffed.

Adrien finally hugged back, and it felt good.

"Your mouth isn't dumb." Adrien told him with what might have been a tiny, tiny chuckle.

They sighed simultaneously.

"Now that I think about it, that sentence was dumb. Sorry." Adrien sniffled.

"You shush, sunshine." Luka nuzzled him. 

"Guys?" the door opened a crack and Marinette peeked in, worry clear on her face. "I heard sniffles, are you okay?"

Adrien let go of Luka and wiped his eyes and they both sat up.

The moment Marinette registered the signs of distress in her boys, she immediately stepped to the bed and clambered over their legs to hug Adrien.

"Are you okay?" she whispered to him.

"I feel way better now," Adrien told her.

"Good." she gave him a little squeeze. "Luka?"

"Just wonderful," Luka smiled at them both, surprised but definitely not disappointed by the realisation that he loved seeing them together as much as he liked being with either of them.

Marinette held out her arm in invitation and he joined the hug, just briefly.

"Can I get you guys anything?" she asked. "Food, or some more blankets or something?"

"No, no, Mari," Adrien gave her a squeeze. "But thank you, very much."

"We're good, gorgeous," Luka bumped her head lightly with his. "C'mon, it's late."

"G'night," Marinette smiled.

She kissed Adrien's cheek and then Luka's and then left them again.

"She's so good to us," Adrien whispered as they lay back down to sleep.

"Maybe too good," Luka nodded, pulling the sheets over them.

"We should do something for her." Adrien thought aloud.

"Dinner?" Luka suggested. "We could take her to a fancy restaurant?"

"I can't go outside." Adrien reminded.

"Right." Luka replied, kicking his jeans out from under the blankets.

"Hmm… what about…" Adrien frowned. "Jewellery?"

"She won't wear earrings," Luka warned. "She refuses to wear any but the pair she already has. And she doesn't wear bracelets, rings or necklaces because they could get in the way of sewing."

"Alright." Adrien crossed things off in his mental checklist. "Clothes?"

It took only a moment for them both to burst into chuckles. They knew perfectly well that there was no clothing Marinette couldn't make or get for herself, and anything Marinette didn't make or buy of her own accord was most certainly not worthy of being worn by her.

She was the expert and authority on all things fashion, unto a goddess in her powers of design and craft, and to buy her clothes would be heresy of the highest degree.

"We should still get her _something_ ," Adrien said as his laughter died.

Luka chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment.

"How much money are we willing to spend?" Luka asked. "Because I think I have an idea."

Adrien's lips split into a mischievous smile.

"What did you have in mind?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHHHH IM STILL HERE I SWEAR
> 
> we finally find out what luka's job is, find out more about maris current overarcing problem and take a peek into the boys psyches
> 
> also hey have i ever told yall how much i love nino? because its a Whole Damn Lot and he's a major palyer in this story especially from now on ;)
> 
> also for those of u who wnt to say "but hawkmoth and le paon/mayura's eyes change color" i tend to think thats an actual exception - like thats really not supposed to happen. 
> 
> also just to date this fic a little the trailer for the episode Frozer came out like yesterday and once the full ep comes out were going to know a little more about luka so that will be fun and i cant wait to find out new layers of my music boi to add to this fic!!
> 
> so ive still got Life Nonsense happening right now and the updates will be slow but keep an eye out and i will see u lovelies later!!


	16. Chapter 16

Marinette woke on Tuesday and began her everyday routine.

She stretched, got dressed, made her bed and made for the kitchen to make breakfast, but just couldn't manage to pass the boys' door without sneaking a peek.

They were still sound asleep, but it seemed last night they'd gotten especially tangled. Adrien's head was shoved under Luka's chin, leaving Luka's neck at an angle that must not have been very comfortable, and one of Adrien's arms was squished underneath Luka.

Despite this, they were both smiling.

Marinette let them be and made breakfast. After the smell of bacon and toast floated in through the crack in the door, Luka peeked his head out, looking sleepy.

She smiled and beckoned him, but he held up a finger and disappeared inside the room again.

The distant whisper of "c'mon, sunshine, breakfast," only made her smile wider.

Adrien wasn't one to be moved without resistance, though, much like Chat Noir, and it was a good minute of noises of protest before Adrien conceded to be taken to the bathroom and then brought to the kitchen bar to eat.

"Mari, that smells really good," Adrien said, his voice a little gravelly. "Thank you _so_ much."

"Thanks for breakfast," Luka watched the bacon hungrily as it slid from the pan onto his plate. "One of these days I'll get up early enough to make it for you."

"Get up early enough for me to teach you how, first," Marinette joked, putting the pan in the sink. "And then we'll see about letting you try on your own."

"I think I can make bacon and toast, Marinette," Luka defended playfully.

"Maybe you can," she shot back. "But I don't think I'd trust you not to burn anything more complicated than a fried egg."

Luka chuckled and took a bite of the bacon. Marinette delivered them a piece of buttered toast each.

"God, I love bacon." Adrien mumbled between munches. "I don’t get to have it enough."

Marinette paused with the pan above the sink.

Chat had said that once before.

She wondered how he was. How long had it been since she'd seen him?

If the last time she'd seen him had been last Tuesday night…

It'd been a whole week?

She'd… never gone that long without him.

The longest she'd gone without the black cat crossing her path in the last five years had been four days.

Marinette was jolted from her thoughts as the pan clattered against the edge of the sink.

"Whoa," Luka immediately looked to her, concerned. "You okay?"

"I, uh…" Marinette put the pan beside the sink and picked up her own plate. "I'm… I'm fine."

She knew that at least Luka would be able to tell she was lying, but in truth, she felt like it shouldn't have been much of a lie. She couldn't let them know how much she missed her partner, lest it lead them to more dire conclusions. She should be holding herself together, at least on this side of the mask.

Luka was up from his seat and by her side in seconds.

"Did you burn your hand?" he asked, taking the plate and putting it down and looking over her palms.

"No, no," she forced a smile, but it came out sad. "My hands lost sensitivity to heat years ago, you know that."

"Marinette," Adrien put down his half-finished toast. "What's wrong?"

She looked between Luka and Adrien's attentive faces, unwilling to deceive them but hesitant to divulge her feelings.

Slowly, with Luka holding her hands so tenderly and Adrien's eyes searching her so gently and her mind milling with thoughts and emotions, her face just turned red and her eyes just welled with tears.

"Oh, no, no, no," Luka hugged her immediately. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay…"

"Aw, Mari," Adrien shifted, likely wishing to do the same and momentarily forgetting he couldn't really move. "Mari, it's okay…"

Marinette took a few shaky breaths against Luka's shirt. It smelled like him and that was mildly comforting.

"What can we do?" Luka asked her softly, a hand holding her head.

"It's…" she spoke with a tight throat. "I'm just…"

"Take your time, Mari," Adrien offered, reaching hesitantly across the kitchen bar. "It's okay."

"It's silly, but…" she sniffed weakly. "I'm… I'm worried about Chat. Chat Noir."

Luka and Adrien exchanged a look.

"That's _not_ silly," Luka told her, firm but gentle. "That's not silly at all."

"I know, I'm not supposed to know," she said, clearing her throat as her voice died. "No-one is. But he's out there, somewhere, and I don't know if he's okay, or if he's safe, or how he's feeling or, what he's doing, or…"

"Easy, Mari," Adrien soothed. "I'm sure he's fine."

She wasn't convinced.

"C'mere," Adrien beckoned.

Marinette looked up at Luka in questioning, and Luka let her out of his arms and followed her to Adrien.

Adrien offered an encore hug and she accepted.

"I think Chat Noir is gonna be just fine," Adrien told her. "I mean, he's got his friend, the new guy, right?"

"Tigereye, yeah," Marinette wiped her eye. "He said they're close."

"If he's got one friend, I'm sure he's got more," Adrien nudged her with his forehead, and then sighed. "I'm more worried about Ladybug, if I'm honest."

"Ladybug?" Marinette asked with another sniffle.

"Yeah," Adrien admitted. "I'm willing to bet she doesn't know any more than we do, and she's probably really confused and worried right now. I… I kinda just wish I could tell her everything's okay, but I can't."

"You're sweet, Adrien," Marinette smiled. "I know she'd appreciate that."

"I think Chat Noir would appreciate you worrying about him, too," Adrien smiled in return.

"And I'm pretty sure that Tigereye guy appreciates being mentioned at all," Luka chimed in, joining the hug. "Feel any better?"

"Lots," Marinette and Adrien moved their arms to accommodate him.

True to form of the last few group hugs, they stayed there for a minute or so, until Marinette got hungry and asked to be freed to eat her now decidedly cold breakfast.

===

After finishing her cooled bacon and slightly dried-out toast, Marinette washed the plates and the pan, wiped the bench and put away the butter, bread and bacon.

She went over to her suitcases and took out the books and movies she'd brought for Adrien, placing them by the couch and the TV, and took out the sweatpants and extra tank top she hadn't given him the day before and took them to his room to put them in the duffle bag.

Moving all these things gave her access to the collapsible hampers tucked in the bottom of her suitcase, but she now realised these might have been too small for three people's laundry, and decided to change them out for some proper sized ones when she could get to a store.

For now, shed just have to be smart with how she packed the clothes.

First, she attacked the discarded apparel on the boys' floor, and there wasn't a lot of it, but still far more than what the collapsible hampers could comfortably hold.

She supposed she had only really expected to be doing the laundry of two people when she first packed these.

After a little wrangling, she managed to get all three of their laundry loads into the two hampers, put the hampers by the door and went over to close the suitcase. After that, it was a few moments to make Luka's bed and grab her phone from the charger on the countertop before doing one last quick stretch and going to tell her boys she was heading out.

Adrien and Luka were having an in-depth conversation about music, Adrien leaning on his arms on the side of the bathtub and Luka sitting right next to him on the floor, animatedly answering questions.

"… more Panic At The Disco," Luka said, listing who knew what on his fingers. "Because it has more of an artistic variance in the aesthetic of its songs, but sometimes you need the raw emotion of a Fall Out Boy song."

"Yeah, Fall Out Boy is better at the conveyance of emotional meaning," Adrien nodded. "They're much more abstract in their lyrical delivery, though."

"Oh, absolutely." Luka agreed. "Also, Fall Out Boy songs _are_ easier to play, at least for me, since they usually use guitar in just about everything, but Panic generally switch between a bunch of instruments."

"You guys having fun?" Marinette asked, almost not wanting to interrupt.

"Yeah!" Adrien replied. "You heading out to the bakery?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'll be back in a bit with some clean laundry."

"You're doing laundry?" Luka blinked.

"Mhm," Marinette leant on the doorframe. "Anything you want me to sew while I have the machine, too?"

"There's a hole in the back of my green-hem shirt," Adrien offered. "Could you take a look at that, if you have the time?"

"Will do," Marinette nodded. "Luka?"

"You're…" he blinked again. "You're doing laundry."

"Yes, I'm going to do the laundry." Marinette tried to supress the giggle. "And maybe some sewing, if you need anything fixed."

"Uh," Luka stood up. "Let me give you some money, or…"

"Oh, no, Luka, no," Marinette laughed. "It's fine, I have to do it anyway, I may as well do yours."

"No, c'mon, you don't have to do _my_ laundry," Luka said.

"Well I'm _gonna_ ," she crossed her arms. "So there."

Luka gave an indignant huff and stepped forward and hugged her.

"Thank you, Marinette," he sighed, nudging her. "You don't have to."

"I know," she gave him a squeeze. "Alright, I'm off. I'd tell you to play nice, but it looks like you were already doing that."

"Be safe," Adrien waved.

And she left them, grabbed the hampers, and went out the door and down the stairs to make her way to the bakery.

===

The hole in Adrien's shirt was easily fixable, and Marinette even managed to catch the inner stitches of the hem coming undone before they became irreparable.

She watered her flowers and dusted, swept and vacuumed the living areas. She went down to check on the bakery, checked the ovens and checked all the taps and power points were still off like they had been yesterday and the five days prior.

Once the house was satisfactorily clean and the washing machine was sounding it's swansong, Marinette put the loads in the dryer and found that she had nothing to do for the next hour.

"You could finish your last set," Tikki suggested. "It's there waiting to be done."

"Do you think I could?" Marinette considered, chewing a nail. "It might be weird for Luka if I do it right now."

"Surely not more weird than when he was living at home?" Tikki offered.

"But what if he shows Adrien?" Marinette worried her lip.

"Do you think he would?" Tikki asked.

"…No," Marinette replied. "But… Adrien might see it by accident… what if he gets the wrong idea?"

"What's the wrong idea?" Tikki asked innocently.

Marinette paused.

What _was_ the wrong idea?

If she sent the photos like normal, Luka would do what he always did; give her his advice, and then ask if he was allowed to save them. But Adrien was there, in the apartment, probably sitting right next to him on the couch, and if Adrien saw the photos, he might think she was sending them to be sexy instead of for critique.

And, granted, she suspected Luka might think they were sexy anyway, because she couldn't for the life of her imagine why he'd want to save them if it wasn't to use them for… alone time, but he always asked if she was okay with him saving them. He respected her, and she trusted him.

It was normal for them, so what was she afraid of?

That Adrien would think it was normal?

Or… maybe she was afraid that Adrien would think it _wasn't_?

"Marinette," Tikki floated near her face. "Are you alright?"

"I…" Marinette replied with a dry throat. "I'm okay, Tikki."

"If you're sure." Tikki gave her cheek a hug.

Marinette took a deep breath, still full of thoughts.

"You know, you could always just model it for Luka in person," Tikki suggested. "That way Adrien can't see a photo."

"That's…" Marinette blinked. "That's actually a good idea, Tikki."

She could imagine it, wearing the piece she could finish today, with Luka sitting on the spare bed as her audience, away from Adrien's eyes. They could converse in real time about what he thought, instead of waiting half an hour for him to type all his commentary like usual.

The longer she thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea.

She smiled at her kwami and went upstairs to finish the set.

===

Marinette made the walk back with a bit of a spring in her step. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and she felt accomplished and a little excited to show Luka her latest creation.

Before she made it in the door, she heard the unmistakable sound of loud music.

Once she entered, she found Luka and Adrien on the couch, huddled together over a brand new laptop connected to some speakers.

"Yesss," Luka lit up and pointed to something on the screen. "Play that next, play that next!"

Adrien smiled and made a few clicks.

Marinette smiled and delivered the hamper full of the boy's clean clothes to its spot next to Adrien's duffle, then walked over to the spare room to put her own clothes by her bag.

The speakers began to sound a well-known song as she passed through the doorway, the familiar bass and synth filling her with more energy than she had before, tugging her smile wider as she dropped the bag.

 _Tommy used to work on the docks,_  
_Union's been on strike, he's down on his luck, it's tough,_  
_So tough…_  
_Gina works the diner all day…_

__

Marinette walked back out, shimmying her shoulders to the beat, and immediately Luka and Adrien snapped their attention from the laptop screen to her.

She passed them, heading for the kitchen, but Luka had other plans, and the moment she was in reach, he jumped up to grab her hand and dance with her to the next few lines.

 _She says we've got to hold on to what we've got,_  
_It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not,_  
_We've got each other, and that's a lot for love,_  
_We'll give it a shot!_

And the moment the chorus began, they both burst into gleeful song with the screeching lyrics.

" _Woah, we're half way there,_  
_Woah,_  
_Livin' on a prayer!_  
_Take my hand, and we'll make it, I swear!_  
_Woah!_  
_Livin' on a prayer!_ "

Adrien watched them jump about and sing with a smile, unable to join in because he didn't know the words but definitely feeling the same joy.

He watched them move back and forth with the beat, pulling each other close and pushing each other out and giggling between belted lines.

" _Gina dreams of runnin' away_ ," Marinette sang alone as Luka dropped silent for a moment. " _When she cries in the night, Tommy whispers-_ "

" _Baby, it's okay_!" Luka took over, theatrically stroking her cheek with a hand, that look in his eyes again. " _Someday…_ "

" _We gotta hold on to what we got_!" they sang together again. " _It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not!_ "

Luka and Marinette spun around the lounge room laughing and dancing and Adrien only felt a little bit bad that he couldn't join them.

Towards the end of the song, he put the laptop down and began to clap along, wanting to do something.

Marinette noticed and steered their dancing towards the couch, and once she got close enough, timing it to the beat, she dropped into Adrien's lap, pulling Luka down with her. They landed in a tangled pile and laughed.

Adrien felt… good, even if their combined weight was squishing his legs.

Marinette grinned at him, and Luka smiled.

It felt… right.

Slowly, the song began to fade out, and then Luka tugged Marinette up from the awkward position, and she went to make lunch.

Adrien hadn't realised how hard he was smiling until his cheeks started to hurt.

===

They spent the rest of the day listening to songs - and their accompanying amateur renditions thereof - until the laptop died and Adrien had to ask Marinette to put it on charge. After dinner and a few rounds of Mecha Strike, Luka noticed Adrien yawning and offered to turn in early.

Marinette stayed up to clean, and spent an hour or two attacking the bathroom and kitchen with foul smelling chemicals and awful feeling rubber gloves.

At 8pm there was a knock at the door.

Luka heard her answer it, but not what was said.

He did hear, however, what she said when she burst into the room seconds later.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU SAPS DID THIS?" Marinette demanded.

"What?" Adrien shot up, not woken up completely. "What did I do?"

"What happened?" Luka frowned, also sitting up.

"Fess up!" Marinette snapped, adorably indignant. "Who did this?"

"Who did what, Mari?" Adrien yawned and rubbed his eyes.

Luka caught himself staring at her flushed pouty face and shook himself out of it. She was cute when she was mad, but he shouldn't discount her feelings.

"This." Marinette held up something in her hands.

It was a dozen roses arranged in the shape of a heart. The centre three were red, and the nine around the border were pink. They sat in a little box.

"Which one of you _dummies_ did this?" she demanded again.

Luka and Adrien looked at one another.

They'd both had a hand in the innocent scheme, but they also both knew Marinette.

She might reward them for this and she might punish them, but either way it was only fair they both weathered the consequences.

"It was a joint effort." Adrien swallowed. "Luka arranged them and I paid."

"WHY?" she put her hands in the air, incredulous.

"Because we want to say thanks," Luka replied. "For everything you're doing for us."

"But there aren't a lot of things we can get you," Adrien continued. "So we chose flowers."

Marinette seemed to have no response for this. Her hands lowered and her expression dropped to one of surprise. She blinked her big baby blues.

"Was it… was it not okay to get you flowers?" Adrien asked, beginning to worry.

Marinette blinked again and her bottom lip dropped into a little gasp. She looked between them, took a deep breath and sighed and put the roses on the bedside table.

Then she crawled onto the bed and knelt between them on the mattress.

"I just… don't think you should spend money on me," she sighed and shook her head, but then she gave a sad smile.

Adrien and Luka waited to see what she would do.

"Thank you for the flowers." she huffed, but she was still smiling. "I love them."

And then she leant forward and kissed Adrien's cheek, so quickly he wasn’t sure it had happened, and then kissed Luka in kind immediately afterward.

"Goodnight, boys." Marinette said as she clambered off the bed again.

They stared in awe as she left, and then turned to one another.

Neither were sure what to think or do, so they just lay back down, still dazed, and went to sleep.

===

"Luka," came a whisper in his ear.

"Mm?" Luka stirred.

Marinette leant above him, wearing only a button up shirt.

"Morning, gorgeous," he mumbled, squinting in the morning sunlight from the window. "Wh-"

"Shh," she put her finger to his lips and giggled gently. "I don't wanna wake Adrien."

Luka opened one eye and, upon seeing Adrien, concurred with the sentiment. He looked cute and peaceful, snuggled into his pillow and holding it tight.

Ignoring the briefly surfacing desire to be in the pillow's place, Luka yawned and looked back to Marinette.

She put her finger up to her own lips and beckoned with a wave.

Luka sat up, grabbed his phone, stretched a little and got up to follow.

She led him to the spare bedroom door and sat down on the bed, patting the space next to her.

He joined her, a little confused but more curious.

"So," she whispered, and he watched as her cheeks began to go pink. "You know how sometimes… I send you photos… of things I make…"

"Yeah, all the time," Luka whispered in reply.

"I mean," she took a little breath. "I mean the… the ones… the ones people might think are… oh, no…"

Marinette fell quiet and shrunk into herself. She looked lovely as ever, in the morning sun from the window, her old pigtails and the white button up, but he felt bad that she felt bad.

Luka thought on what she might have meant and, after a moment, a smile grew on his face.

"You mean…" he realised he also didn't know how to communicate the idea gently, so he got creative. "…the ones I ask if I can save?"

She looked up in surprise and after a moment, nodded gently.

"I finished another one," she whispered. "But I didn't want to just send a photo in case… in case Adrien saw it."

Luka cocked his head, now more intrigued.

"So, I thought…" Marinette went on. "That I might just… show you in person this time."

His breath caught in his throat.

"If that’s okay!" she squeaked. "We don't have to! I just… thought it would be nice…"

"Marinette," Luka swallowed. "I'd love it. If you wanna show me, I wanna see."

"Okay," she breathed. "Could you… c-close your eyes for a s-second?"

Luka smiled and pulled his hands up to cover his eyes. He felt her move off the bed and heard the sounds of her undoing the buttons of the shirt.

Marinette dropped the garment to the floor, stepped about three feet away, and took a nervous breath.

"You can look now," she said.

Luka uncovered his eyes.

Marinette stood in a strapless bra and matching panties, made of soft black fabric and generous amounts of blue lace.

Luka clapped his hand to his mouth to stifle the involuntary moan.

Marinette resisted the urge to giggle, watching in slight satisfaction as his face went red and his eyes danced over her body.

"Sorry," he said after a minute or two. "I… sorry…"

"Is that…" she shuffled in place, getting nervous again. "That how you usually react?"

"No," he shook his head rapidly.

He took a moment to reposition his legs, hoping she didn't guess why. When he looked back up, she looked hesitant.

 _Maybe that was the wrong answer_ , he thought.

"I mean, yes, it is," he confessed. "I just… this one's… really nice."

Marinette went from shy to gently amused.

"It looks great, Marinette." Luka sighed, hoping he didn’t fuck this up. " _You_ look great."

She smiled, still nervous.

"Definitely my favorite so far." he continued, feeling a little silly even as he went on. "I really, really love it."

Marinette took a breath and shuffled a little again.

Luka was absolutely reeling. Every now and then, Marinette would ask him for advice about the lingerie she made. The first time she'd actually just sent a photo intended for Alya to the wrong number, but after he'd provided his first reply she'd kept coming back to ask again and again.

He certainly didn’t complain. Her creations were always beautiful and well-crafted and each one complimented her in a different way. Of course, he also wasn't complaining about the chance to see her in pretty underwear, but the photos she sent weren't meant for that. They were for professional purposes only.

Granted, the photos did have some obvious inherent intimacy, and that was precisely why kept them behind a pin on his phone.

The same reason Marinette hadn't sent one this time. She'd made it clear the first time he asked to save one; the photos weren't for anyone's eyes but his.

If even Adrien saw any of the precious images, even by accident, Luka would have betrayed Marinette's trust, and he never wanted to do that.

Luka was used to the photos by now. It had been about a year since she'd started sending them to him, and while he definitely found himself aroused by them, it was to a lesser degree than this. The lingerie photos were always in a mirror, with no clear view of Marinette's face, in average quality.

But that was a very different ball game to her standing right in front of him, where he could see all of her with his own two eyes, in the soft yellow morning light.

Luka _may_ have been just a little bit worked up (in both senses of the phrase) by the whole affair. Just a little.

"Well?" Marinette piped up.

"You're a little far away for me to see the details," Luka swallowed his nerves.

She went redder at this. He stretched out his arms in invitation.

"C'mon, Marinette," he coaxed. "You can come closer, I won't bite."

"I know you won't," she sighed and smiled and stepped forth. "Alright."

He sat forward and she came as close as she dared, between his knees.

They'd never been this close.

Not like this.

Luka resisted the instinct to touch her, to pull her closer, to kiss her and undress her and pleasure her. It was stronger now than ever, only aided and abetted by the fact that it was morning, but he ignored it.

Instead, he focused on the task at hand: inspecting Marinette's creation.

The first thing he noted was the lace.

"You know this kind can get itchy, right?" he enquired, catching his hand, which was moving to touch the blue material, and willing it back down again. "You should probably put some material behind it if you wanna wear this for a long time."

Marinette lit up a little with the input.

The strapless bra was impeccably sewn along every seam, except for the tiniest inconsistency in the threads where the lace joined to the black fabric.

"You stopped this halfway and started again later, didn’t you?" Luka smiled.

"Is it that obvious?" she frowned.

"No," Luka realised he'd leaned in close to her chest and pulled back a little. "I only noticed cause the rest is perfect."

She smiled and he returned it. Again the urge to kiss her came bubbling to the surface of his mind, and again he pushed it down.

"Can I see the back?" he asked.

Marinette went red again.

"I don't have to," Luka encouraged. "If you're not comfortable with that."

"No, I just…" Marinette turned a little. "I just want to see where you're looking when you tell me stuff."

Luka chewed the inside of his cheek and raised both hands to her sides, making eye contact to ask permission. She raised an eyebrow and nodded.

Just lightly, he brushed his fingers to her skin, and she twitched in reflex, but at his scared expression, simply put her hands on his arms and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"Turn and I'll put my hand near where I'm talking about." he offered.

Marinette nodded and slowly turned in place.

"Oh my god, a zip." Luka moved his hand up to rest gently just below the hem of the bra. "This one's officially the best."

"What's wrong with the other ones?" she played offended.

"I hate those little hooky-thingies." he replied. "And they catch on the lace all the time, and that's just shit all around."

"The back's too wide for hooky-thingies anyway, but you're right." Marinette giggled. "They do catch on the lace."

Luka slowly trailed his hand down to the space between the small of her back and the crest of her hip. He took the opportunity to take in the sight of her butt in the black and lace underwear.

Luka really liked Marinette's butt.

"You haven't said much about the panties," she said, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Same thing applies with the lace," he replied. "But other than that, these are perfect."

"Perfect, huh?" Marinette repeated.

"The design is killer, you've put it together flawlessly," Luka listed. "And you look amazing in it."

"Thank you, Luka." Marinette grinned and squirmed a little under the compliments.

"It's only the truth," he shrugged, and out of something like old habit and a momentary lapse in his caution, he leant forward and pressed a soft kiss between her shoulder blades.

Marinette made a little gasp.

"Oh, fuck," Luka yanked his hands away from her and leant back. "Sorry, Marinette, I… fuck, I'm sorry…"

She spun to face him, surprised, but not upset.

"Luka," she reached out and put her palms to his cheeks. "It-it's okay, I just… wasn't expecting it!"

"Sorry…" he looked away, unable to hold her gaze.

"Don't be." Marinette said softly. "It was… it was sweet, Luka, I…"

He heard her swallow, but didn't dare look up yet.

"I liked it."

Now _that_ made Luka look up.

She was easily as flushed as he was.

"I… I like it when we kiss." Marinette whispered.

Her hands moved down, her arms coming to rest on his shoulders. She was so close, looking at him so intently, and his heart began to pound.

God, he wanted to pull her into his lap and kiss and touch every inch of her. The desire was almost overwhelming. His hands returned to her hips, but he kept them still.

Marinette gave a smile and the tiniest of hums, moving just the slightest bit closer.

Luka closed his eyes and tilted his head for her, ready, _so ready_ to _finally_ taste her on his lips again, after what felt like years even though he knew it had only been days -

And then his phone rang from his pocket.

Luka took a deep breath and Marinette dropped her head to rest on his shoulder with a breathless laugh.

He was being called into work.

Halfway through the conversation he had to close his eyes to keep from staring into her cleavage.

Finally, when his boss hung up, he dropped the phone, groaned in frustration and hugged Marinette close, burying his face in her neck.

"Sorry we got interrupted." she told him, pulling back and kissing his cheek.

Luka gently pushed her by the hips so he could stand up, then leant down and kissed her forehead in return, slowly and softly.

After a look and a squeeze he let her go and handed her the button-up from the floor.

"Thanks for letting me see your work, Ma-Ma-Marinette." he smiled at her. "I'm happy you trust me."

Marinette smiled as she took the shirt.

"See you when I get home," Luka closed the door before murmuring: "Love you."

He couldn't hold it in anymore, but he still wasn’t brave enough to let her hear it.

Adrien slept through his return to their room, the entire time he changed clothes, and the attempts to wake him up, so Luka just gave him a quick nuzzle and left him.

===

The day passed without further incident, and Luka was ready for his first patrol.

He arrived on the meeting roof five minutes early out of nerves.

"Oh, Tigereye!" Ladybug chirped as she landed. "You're punctual."

"I'm afraid of being late to things." he admitted.

Ladybug gave his arm a comforting pat and nodded in the direction of the previously specified patrol route.

"Wednesdays are quieter on the civilian front," Ladybug said as they went. "But akumas show up more during weekdays. We have no idea why."

"Papillon just likes his weekend retreats?" Tigereye wondered.

"Actually, Chat and I figured out that he's probably an old man," Ladybug informed as they passed the Arc de Triomphe. "He's probably too busy taking naps on weekends to be a villain."

They both laughed, and Luka realised Ladybug's laugh was a lot like Marinette's. It made him a little more comfortable.

The time passed and eventually they'd made a round of the whole city, but Luka found that he wasn't tired.

"I don't have to be anywhere tonight," Ladybug told him. "So we can have that Q and A now, if you like."

"I'd like that." Tigereye nodded.

"Here or somewhere else?" she asked, taking a look around.

He followed suit, and saw over the next street was the park he liked to play his acoustic in.

And the park where Adrien broke his leg.

"How about in the park?" Tigereye suggested.

"Yeah, okay." Ladybug nodded and leapt over.

Luka had to admit that soaring through the air was still quite thrilling.

He landed where she had.

"Should we just… walk?" she asked with a non-committal shrug.

"Yeah, let's just walk," Tigereye gestured down the footpath.

So they began to stroll.

"So, ask away," she said, holding her arms behind her and walking with an air of professionalism that he'd never really noticed before.

"Uh, okay, here's something I've been thinking about for ages," Luka snapped his fingers. "Can you do a flip?"

"Uh, yeah?" she smiled up at him, confused.

"Oh, so, do you do, like, gymnastics or something?" Luka mused. "Should I start doing something like that?"

"Oh, you mean untransformed!" Ladybug burst into laughter. "Oh, no, Tigereye, no!"

She giggled for a little longer, but he just felt awkward. She caught his apprehensive expression and softened.

"I mean, yes, I can do flips untransformed," Ladybug told him, panicking slightly like Marinette did sometimes. "So can Chat. Y'know, when his legs aren't broken, obviously…"

He nodded in response.

"But, Tigereye," she beckoned, putting her hand to his arm. "We spent a lot of time and effort learning how to do that. It's okay if you can't."

"But doesn't it help to be able to do that stuff by yourself?" Tigereye asked.

"Well, yes and no." Ladybug answered. "See, Chat and I figured, once we realised we really were in this for the long haul, that we shouldn't just rely on our Miraculouses anymore. So, we both decided to step up and do things to make being heroes easier."

"Like what?"

"Well," Ladybug took a quick breath and it was clear she was thinking about it. "I ice skate once a week with a friend, that helps with ice transformations. I swim in the spring and summer, if I have time, for aqua transformations. I spend a lot of time practicing parkour, except in winter, because it's too dangerous."

Luka was impressed. Ladybug was as busy as Marinette was.

"I know Chat and Carapace both go to the gym," she added. "Chat does gymnastics, and he's mentioned skating and swimming, and fencing, too. We do as much as we can, because the hero work comes before everything else."

"Right," Tigereye nodded, glancing over at the bench he usually sat on to play guitar in the darkened park. "So if I can't do it untransformed, how can I do it when I am?"

"It's Plagg." Ladybug nodded. "Plagg helps you do the things you do while you're transformed. Plagg and your predecessors."

"Pr… pred… predators?" Luka paused in his tracks while he tried to wrap his head around the word.

"Predecessors," Ladybug repeated gently, pausing with him. "People who came before you."

"What do you mean?" Tigereye shook his head. "I'm… I'm sorry, I don’t always understand things."

"No, no, it's okay," Ladybug stopped and came back toward him. "Here."

She reached for his hand and brought it up to hold it between them.

"This ring," she told him, gently wiggling the hand for emphasis. "This ring, and Plagg, have been around a really long time. And a lot of people have worn it before you."

"Like A-" Luka almost slapped himself again. "Ch-Chat?"

Ladybug nodded and a smile split across her face.

"The ring, and Plagg, remember all of them," she said. "It remembers what they could do, how they could move. When you do a flip while you’re transformed, it's not just you moving like that. It's Plagg, and everyone who's done a flip with the ring on before."

"F-for real?" Tigereye raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Ladybug nodded. "You can do lots of things while you're transformed that you can't do normally."

"Like what?" Luka asked.

"Well, the last fox holder, Rena Rouge," Ladybug told him. "She couldn't play the flute when she first used the miraculous. She learnt later, but the first time, she didn't know how. The necklace and Trixx remembered from all the past foxes who did know, and they guided her."

"So anything Chat could do, I can, too?" Luka guessed.

Her nodding got more enthusiastic.

"How?" Tigereye shook his head.

Ladybug opened her mouth, then frowned and let go of his hand and walked over to the nearest trashcan. To his confusion and dismay, she stuck her hand in and fished around, producing an old coffee cup and a newspaper.

"This is how Tikki explained it to me," Ladybug told him, walking over to the water fountain and rinsing and filling the coffee cup.

She handed him the cup, asking him just to hold it, then ripped off a single sheet of the newspaper.

"Imagine this paper is like you," she gave it a little shake. "And the water-"

She took the cup and poured a few droplets onto the paper.

"The water is like Plagg."

Luka wondered where she was going with this. Ladybug then held the paper over the cup and moved it so that it became like a funnel and gave it a gentle squeeze, and the water soaked through the paper and some dripped back into the cup.

Then Ladybug spread it flat again.

"See how the water smudged the ink?" she asked.

Luka could, in fact, see where the words on the newspaper had blurred and blotted.

"But look at the water, too." she held up the cup.

A little splash of the grey-black ink floated suspended in the water.

"So the words are something about you, and Plagg takes some of them with him when he leaves you," Ladybug explained. "And then, when Plagg goes to another holder…"

She moved the piece of paper and dropped the inky water on a different part, repeating the process.

There was now new ink among the words, distorting them, pale but noticeable stains.

"The next holder learns," she said. "Because Plagg did, too."

The water was now a very light grey with ink instead of completely clear.

Ladybug looked up at him with her bright blue eyes, searching for some sign that he understood.

Like Marinette often did.

"I understand," he nodded. "I don't know how it works, like, _literally_ , like, _scientifically_ how it works, but I get it."

Ladybug gave a relieved sigh and a smile and returned the cup and paper to the trashcan.

"So have you learnt anything from one of your, like… Ladybug ancestors?" Tigereye asked.

"Actually, yeah," Ladybug got a faraway look on her face as she re-joined him. "One of the past Ladybugs was a trapeze artist. She was the one who perfected the techniques of swinging from buildings using the yo-yo."

"Wow," Luka offered. "That's cool."

"Yeah, it is." she giggled. "That was a recent thing, too. There weren't exactly a lot of super tall buildings in Ancient China or the Greek Empire."

"I gotta ask Chat if he's learnt anything interesting." Tigereye steered towards the play equipment.

"If he has, I don't know about it." Ladybug frowned as she followed. "Plagg… doesn't talk about any of his past holders except Chat."

"Why not?" Tigereye stood behind the swing out of habit, and Ladybug took the seat without thinking.

"Tikki says only a few were good to him." Ladybug replied. "He hates thinking about them."

"That explains… a lot." Tigereye mumbled, beginning to push her subconsciously. "Is that why he hates me?"

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you." Ladybug absentmindedly swung back and forth.

"He literally tried to kill me," Tigereye countered as he pushed gently whenever she got near. "With magic. Freaked Chat out real bad."

"What?" Ladybug frowned. "Why?"

"I made a big mistake and almost lost the ring." Tigereye admitted. "I got it back and I'm never letting it out of my sight again, promise, but still... he was fuckin' _pissed_."

"Well, yeah, I think he'd be right to get mad about that," Ladybug nodded understandingly. "But trying to kill you might be a bit much."

"I'll say." Tigereye shook his head, pushing her higher. "I think I'm all they've got. If I die, Chat'll have to ask our roommate, and, like, fuck… that would just be a mess."

"You're right, you are all we've got," Ladybug answered, speaking gently as she kicked back and forth on the swing. "But I think you're doing great regardless."

"Th-thanks," Tigereye stuttered, completely unsure as to why.

"And Plagg's being way too hard on you," she said, turning her head to see him. "The worst he's done to Chat was lie about where he was during a battle."

"What?" Luka smiled in disbelief.

"Chat got hit by an akuma before he could transform," Ladybug shrugged. "But Plagg said he'd dropped his ring and couldn't find it, and that Plagg left him out of betrayal."

"Well _that's_ a shit thing to do," Tigereye huffed.

"Plagg likes Chat," Ladybug assured. "He's just… got his own way of showing it."

"I'll take your word for it," Tigereye shrugged.

They were in a comfortable silence for a moment, until Marinette wondered what time it was.

"When…" Ladybug visibly tensed. "When did I get on the swing?"

"Sorry," Luka caught her and held her still when she next got close to him, slowly lowering her so she could get off the swing.

"Don't apologize, it's okay," Ladybug frowned. "I just… didn't realise what I was doing. It's getting late."

"Yeah." Tigereye agreed.

"I have a busy day tomorrow," Ladybug checked her yo-yo for the time. "Or, uh, today, if we're being pedantic."

"Fair," Tigereye nodded. "See you next attack?"

Ladybug giggled at this, then nodded and waved and disappeared.

Tigereye turned in the direction of his building and leapt away.

===

Luka got in the door and immediately made a beeline for Marinette's room.

She was sitting up in bed, on her phone, wearing Adrien's shirt.

"Hey," he beckoned quietly from the door.

"Ah!" she squeaked, but once she saw him she sighed. "Oh, Luka. Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," he chewed the inside of his cheek. "Mind if I come in?"

Marinette nodded and he came over to sit beside her legs.

"So, it's Thursday tomorrow." he said. "And I know we missed it last week cause of all the…"

He frowned, stuck for a word.

"Stuff?" Marinette offered.

"Stuff," Luka smiled. "But, I wanna know if we're still going to the rink."

Marinette chewed her lip, looked at the wall, and then took a quick breath.

"We don't have to," Luka leaned over and bumped his forehead to hers. "But I think you should get out for a day."

She rested her head on his shoulder, still undecided.

"I get paid overnight," he added. "We could go get coffee before and ice cream after, like we used to."

"You don't need to bribe me, Luka," she smiled and turned her head up and her little nose brushed his cheek. "I want to go with you, I'm… I'm just worried about Adrien cooped up in here all by himself."

"Nino can come over and keep him company," Luka offered.

"Alright, alright!" Marinette chuckled. "You're determined, I'll give you that."

"You deserve downtime," he smiled and brushed his finger against the soft skin of her cheek. "So… ten?"

"Ten." she nodded, kissing his cheek. "I'll come wake you up in case you need rescuing from Adrien again. G'night, Luka."

"Night, Ma-Ma-Marinette." he kissed her forehead before he could doubt himself.

He left her room with a stupid smile on his face.

Adrien was spread out over the whole bed, clearly fast asleep.

Luka shook his head and removed his jacket and jeans and just lay down over Adrien's outstretched left arm.

A minute or two after he got settled, Adrien moved and curled around him, nuzzling into his neck.

The next morning, Marinette found them with matching smiles before she woke them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> i have been super busy so sorry for the gaps between upd8s but dont worry i will die before i abandon this fic and weve still got a long way to go
> 
> see yall next time!!!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for this chapter: this chapter mentions large amounts of water and people being stuck in it, and theres a conversation that's indirectly on the subject of masturbation. if either of these subjects are difficult for you to handle, click away or take a moment to prepare yourself. I want you to be! Safe!!

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Luka looked from the newsagent magazine rack to Marinette. She was holding their coffees from the café next door.

"Weirder now that you know him better, huh?" she nodded knowingly.

Luka was used to looking at Adrien's face by now, but there was something a little off-putting about seeing it on the cover of this magazine.

"Why… why does it look… off?" he reached out and picked it up.

Adrien sat with his elbows resting on his knees on a chair, but despite the relaxed position he somehow looked uncomfortable. There was something different about his face, as if something that should have been on it was missing, and the clothing wasn't in the realm of what Adrien usually wore.

"He's supposed to be relaxed, but you can tell his shoulders are tense." Marinette pointed. "He doesn't usually wear salmon, it clashes with his skin tone. And they've covered the little patches of freckles either side of his nose, so you probably think his skin looks different."

"You're right," Luka nodded, realising those were exactly the issues he was seeing.

"Nino and I are used to picking these apart." Marinette shrugged. "Adrien does it because he wants to keep his father from making a fuss, but…"

Marinette looked up into the distance at a billboard three or four blocks over. It was one left over from last year's Gabriel underwear advertisements.

Adrien hated that billboard.

So did she, and Nino, and even Chat Noir.

Luka looked up as well, and he watched his face morph into one of disgust and discomfort as he took it in. He looked back to her in offended concern.

"Yeah." Marinette sighed. "We hate what it puts him through."

Luka looked down at the magazine again and returned it to the rack.

"I have a lot of better photos of him," Marinette told him. "I'll bring them home sometime."

Luka was still frowning at the magazine. She shared the sentiment, but it wasn't good to ruminate on it too long.

"Luka," she coaxed. "We'll be late for skating."

"Right, sorry," he shook his head.

Marinette gave a sad smile and handed him his coffee, and then they linked arms and made their way to the closest subway station.

===

"Do you remember the first day we came to the rink together?" Marinette asked as she made a sharp turn before she hit the wall.

"The day you hurt your arm?" Luka followed suit.

"No, no," she bit her lip as she did a spin. "The _first_ first day, the double-date with Adrien and Kagami… I think the year before."

"Oh, shit," he replied, reaching for her waist. "I do."

He lifted her up and gave her a toss, and she enjoyed the way she soared through the air before focusing on landing in a way that wouldn't murder her leg.

"That day was a disaster," Marinette swooped back to him.

"I remember it feeling pretty good for a while," Luka chewed the inside of his cheek as they spun in tandem. "But I know something went wrong."

"Akuma," she sighed, rolling her shoulders and countering the movement with a swing of her leg. "I mean, it went downhill before that, but… the first ice akuma. Patineur."

"Hm." he hummed, pulling her close to lift her again, paying attention to the direction he was about to be going in. "Well, why do you ask?"

After the lift, he swung her down and threw her upwards.

She laughed giddily in mid-air before he caught her and lowered her to the ice again.

"I ask because I feel like…" Marinette paused to lower herself into a tight spin, and continued once she popped up again. "Like I forgot to say something that day, something important."

"Oh," Luka raised his eyebrows and pouted in the facial equivalent of a shrug, doing a simple spin in place and flowing backwards alongside her. "Was it something good or bad?"

"I think it was bad that I didn’t say it." she frowned, taking his offered hand, pressing close and falling into step with him. "Like if I'd said it, everything would be ok, but I didn't, and now I can't shake the feeling I have to fix it."

"Well," Luka nudged her head and gave her a quick squeeze. "I can't think of anything. It's probably fine."

"Marinette!" came a voice from the sidelines. "How is my most graceful student?"

"Good morning, Monsieur Phillippe!" Marinette called, unhooking from Luka and gliding over to the wall.

Luka continued doing random spins and little flips.

"How is your leg?" Marinette asked the friendly instructor.

"I'll be back on the ice in no time." Phillippe assured.

"Wonderful," she grinned. "Say, could you put on some music?"

"Finally ready to try a routine again?"

"Luka's rib is still a bit twingey," Marinette tapped her chin. "But I think something easy, and we'll see how we go?"

"Absolutely!" Phillippe grinned. "I'll go put something on."

"What's he doing?" Luka had come full circle around the rink and Marinette came over to take his hands.

"He's putting on music for us." Marinette informed. "Is that okay?"

"That's very much okay," he smiled. "I missed dancing with you."

"I just… didn't want to hurt your rib anymore," she confessed.

Luka sighed and his smile grew wider. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the sound of violins reached them.

Their eyes met again and their skating changed rhythm. They moved slowly and deliberately with the music, synced by virtue of practice and trust.

Marinette had spent four years doing every possible thing to familiarize herself with being Ladybug. When she was a kid, she'd gotten by by the skin of her teeth with every duty, every battle. But after…

She hated thinking about that day. But she knew it had been a learning experience.

She spend every second that wasn't at school, or working on sewing or at the bakery, doing something, _anything_ that improved her skills. Swimming. Skating. Parkour. She'd considered trapeze for her yo-yo, or pole dancing to aid with aerial movement and using Chat's baton, but the classes for those had been at inopportune times the last two years.

Luka had joined her in skating after he found out she was doing it alone. He'd had somewhat of a talent for it on their first visit, she remembered that clearly enough, and he only seemed to improve the longer they'd done it.

Skating had been something Marinette did for work, and that Luka accompanied her in for fun, and that on some days she wished she didn't have to do.

But the first time they'd played music at the rink, it became something she never wanted to give up.

Ice dancing with Luka was something strange and special. She couldn't explain it, couldn’t even describe it. It was so different from every other part of her life, every other thing she knew, and Marinette loved it.

Marinette knew that it felt like she was made of water, that she flowed more than danced. She knew that it didn't matter how they moved, she and Luka would still be touching somewhere, somehow, and it made her feel safe.

And Luka? The way Luka moved on ice to music was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. It was more graceful and enchanting than anything else she'd ever seen him do. It was as if he was letting the music move him, relinquishing control of his body to the flow of the melodies and harmonies of the instruments.

It was an ebb and flow of matching full-body movement, a fluctuating pulse that pushed out and pulled in and made her light-headed and smile so thoughtlessly her cheeks would be as sore as her legs by the time they were done.

The music began to fade, and Marinette and Luka pulled each other close on the ice, creating a safe place to come back to their senses. She looked up to him and smiled and he reached down and kissed her forehead.

"Please refrain from kissing on the ice," Phillippe called out. "You'll melt it!"

They chuckled and joined hands and zoomed towards him.

Marinette overshot and let out a little 'oof' as she bumped the wall, and Luka put his hand to the small of her back as comfort while they chatted.

"You haven't danced like that in months," Phillippe shook his head in wonder. "But this was a cut above every previous attempt. You must have gotten even closer since you were last here."

Marinette considered the last two weeks, blushed and decided that was definitely the case.

"I still can't change your mind about going professional?" Phillippe tried. "That was Olympic quality performance, kiddos."

"You know I wish I could," Marinette sighed. "But I can't."

"If Marinette can't, I won't either," Luka shrugged apologetically. "I go where she goes, I stay where she stays." 

Phillippe nodded acceptingly. He had been asking for three years, but Marinette and Luka had to decline every time.

"Ask me again next year," Marinette encouraged. "Something might have changed by then."

"I will," Phillippe grinned and left them.

"Ice-cream time?" Luka hummed, wrapping his arm around her again.

"Ice-cream time." Marinette nodded, curling against his side as they drifted toward the rink exit.

===

"Adrien and Nino holding up okay?" Luka asked as they searched their phones for evidence of Andre Glacee's location.

"They're doing their stupid pushup challenge," Marinette tapped at her phone screen. "They've hit level 5."

"Is… is Adrien's leg gonna hold up under Nino's weight?" Luka worried. "Theyre both pretty heavy dudes."

"Adrien has held much more than Nino's weight before." Marinette nodded. "His leg will be fine."

"Oh, he's out at Arc de Triomphe right now," Luka popped up from the bench. "Think we can make it on foot? We'll never get a park before he moves."

"We can if we do this," Marinette tightened her purse strap, undid the top button of her blouse and shed her cardigan.

Luka grinned and removed his jacket, moved his wallet and phone to his back pocket and put all the spare items in the van.

"Ready?" Marinette asked him, stretching a little.

"Left or right?" Luka rolled his shoulders. "God, haven't done this in a while."

"Left," Marinette nodded. "Me neither, not since Kim moved house. Let me know if your rib starts to hurt."

"Promise." Luka took position. "Let's go."

And off they went, running down the avenue.

They weaved between pedestrians, stopped at lights and swerved to avoid cyclists and skateboarders, racing but not to win.

Simply to move.

It was a tradition started by Kim and Marinette when they were very young. Kim liked challenges and Marinette liked proving she was right. So anytime someone asked "could we make it on foot?" Kim and Marinette, eventually joined by Alix when they started school, Nino a little later, and Luka after he began to hang out with her, would simply run as fast as they could to the destination in question.

Alix was the first to halt the tradition after she got into international rollerblading and began to travel. Nino was next, after he got his job. Kim moved in with Max after the wedding and was too busy running in sport fields to be running down the streets of Paris with his friends.

Even Luka and Marinette hadn't done it in a year or so, but it seemed like the skills never left them.

Marinette regained the age old knowledge of rounding corners the fast way, and Luka was remembering how to run on his toes.

Toward the end of the avenue, her hair came loose, and it flickered behind her as she laughed and sprinted.

Luka could see the cart in the distance, and he needed to watch where he was going, but he really, really wanted to be watching Marinette.

She was all he wanted to watch, ever.

After a final road crossing, they were close enough to the Arc to slow down, and they paused, panting and sweaty, in the afternoon sun.

"Your… your rib good?" Marinette checked though heavy breaths.

Luka only nodded, smiling sillily.

"That felt… really good," she said, brushing her hair out of her face, reaching up to fix her twin buns. "But let's just walk on the way back."

He nodded again in emphatic agreement.

"Ice cream?" Marinette pointed to the cart.

"Ice cream." Luka wiped his forehead.

They strolled over and waited in line.

It had been a while since they'd come for ice-cream. Marinette always had time to skate with him, but once she'd started University they'd dropped the coffee and ice-cream parts of the routine.

But she was on summer break now, and they had the time.

"Ah!" Andre greeted them warmly. "Dear, sweet Marinette and M. Luka Couffaine. I have not seen you in some time, but I saw Juleka yesterday."

"Did she and Rose come for ice cream?" Marinette asked, reaching for her purse.

"No, no, they were just passing through," Andre grabbed a scooper. "But I don't need to serve those two ice cream to know their love is true."

"One each, please," Luka pulled out his wallet.

"Chocolate chip mint and charcoal and blackberry," Andre announced, handing Marinette her scoops. "For the two handsome suitors of the lovely young lady."

Marinette knew very well by now that Glacee's ice cream was not to be doubted, but she couldn't imagine what he might have meant.

"Another choc chip with bubblegum swirl," Andre continued, and handed this one to Luka. "And you are both here, but where is your third?"

"Third?" Marinette blinked as she and Luka handed over their cash. "What do you mean third?"

"Love comes in all shapes and all numbers, you see," Andre nodded and tapped his nose knowingly. "I can tell these things, my dear, you can't keep love a secret from me."

"Thank you for the ice-creams, Andre," Marinette smiled and turned to go, still confused but not wanting to keep up the line on a sunny summer afternoon.

"I would ask if next time your third will come," Andre called. "But perhaps I am not the only one your love is a secret from."

Luka and Marinette just exchanged a stunned glance and waved and walked away. They found a bench to sit down on and showed off the frosty spoils of their encounter.

"We both got choc chip," Marinette gave hers a lick. "Wonder what that means?"

"Well, when Jules used to get hers, before she and Rose were officially dating," Luka thought aloud, catching a line of dribbling cream before it could fall off the cone. "It was passionfruit and strawberry, with a cherry on top, and Rose would get that charcoal stuff and some like, boysenberry."

"Nice," Marinette offered.

"But when they started dating, it changed." Luka licked at the bubblegum scoop. "It was the boysenberry and the strawberry together."

"So you think… ours changed from what they were before?" she frowned.

"I mean, I know I only ever got bubblegum," he gave his slowly emptying cone a little shake. "There was like a month or two last year when sometimes it was banana, but every other time it's always been the same. Pink and blue bubblegum swirl." 

"Mine was peach and mint." Marinette thought. "I wonder if the mint is meant to be the same."

"Well, who were you in love with when it was mint?" Luka asked before thinking.

Marinette froze up, and, upon noticing as such, so did Luka.

"Sorry!" he blurted. "I didn't mean t-"

"Shh." Marinette put her finger to his lips and moved her head as if listening for something.

Luka listened, too, but he heard nothing.

"Sorry," she frowned and ate the last bite of her ice cream, Luka following suit. "I thought I heard-"

A shrill scream sounded in the distance.

"Akuma." Marinette growled and stood up, angrily throwing her empty cone into the trashcan beside the bench. "I can't have a day off? I CAN'T HAVE A DAY OFF?"

"Should we make a break for the van?" Luka stood, offering in the hopes that if they began to run, he could split from her and head off to help Ladybug.

"Yeah," Marinette rolled her shoulders, thinking the exact same thing.

"Ready?" Luka tossed his empty cone.

"Let's go." Marinette nodded.

===

The split-away was easier than estimated, as was finding a hiding place.

In minutes, Ladybug and Tigereye had convened on a rooftop.

"Glad to see you're still punctual," she nodded in acknowledgement.

"I was nearby," he answered.

"I AM CLEARWATER!" a booming voice came from the direction of the Seine. "YOU WILL NO LONGER POLLUTE MY PRECIOUS RIVER!!!"

"Oh, _god_ ," Ladybug groaned in exhausted frustration.

"Are you feeling okay?" Tigereye asked her.

"Yeah," Ladybug sighed. "I was just… not planning on fighting a water akuma today."

"I don't think either of us were," Tigereye nodded.

"I was having a good day." she shook her head.

"We were both having a good day." he joined with an equally exasperated tone.

"Let's go see if this will require a transformation, shall we?" Ladybug huffed and leapt toward the ruckus.

Tigereye followed.

===

Luka had never seen anything like this before in his life.

He stared at it in more confusion than fear.

It seemed that the entire volume of the Seine had been sucked up into one form; a giant vaguely-person-shaped blob of water with glowing eyes. It was moving along the banks of the riverbed, sucking things up into its body.

But only people. It seemed objects couldn't pass into the mass of water.

"There are people in there," Tigereye breathed.

"They can breathe, they're swimming around." Ladybug pointed out.

He peered closer and realised they were in fact, floundering about in the giant blob.

"But it looks like they can't get out." Ladybug pointed.

A man was attempting to get out of the blob, as was a natural and rational thing to do, but was having no luck. It was as if the water, and the people in it, were being kept in by rubber.

Luka looked to Ladybug. She was hardly pleased.

"How… how do we attack this?" Luka asked.

"The akuma will be at the top." Ladybug sighed and pointed. "The person is inside the head, because they're the brain."

"Right." Tigereye nodded. "So how do we get up there?"

"Aqua transformation." Ladybug informed. "We're gonna have to detransform, give our kwamis the transforming food, and swim up there and get the akuma off the victim."

"Transforming food?" Tigereye cocked his head.

"Yeah, they're these little rainbow camemberts, at least for you," Ladybug looked… concerned. "Chat… should still have some left. Didn't he give them to you?"

Luka remembered something like that being mentioned…

"Oh!" he gasped, remembering the box he'd retrieved from behind the poster. "Th- the- yeah, he had some!"

"Oh, thank god," Ladybug sighed in relief. "Where is it?"

"I haven't had time to get it out of the bag yet." Tigereye shook his head. "I can run back and get it."

"No," she replied, shaking hers in kind. "We need to be quick. I know I have some with me. I have… I have an aqua and an aerial one left. I'm gonna have to ask the Guardian for more."

"Aerial?" he blinked. "Like… like flying?"

"Yeah." Ladybug stood and turned, looking down into the alleyways on the sides of the building. "How are you with heights?"

"I'm alright with heights," Tigereye frowned. "I can't say I'll be any good at flying, though."

"Okay, well…" Ladybug puffed a hair out of her face. "Can you swim?"

Luka looked at her as if she'd just asked if the sky was blue. Then he remembered she didn't know anything about him and backtracked.

"I mean, I lived on a boat my whole life," he replied with a silly grin, trying to be jovial. "So I sure fuckin' hope I can."

She smiled and told him what she planned.

===

Marinette was nervous.

She knew she should trust Tigereye like she trusted Chat. Chat trusted him, and Tigereye hadn't failed her yet.

But he was on the other side of this broken fence, and if one of them caught a glance of the other, it could ruin everything, and she was still scared.

"Okay," Marinette plucked out the green macaron and held it out to the edge for him. "Give this to Plagg."

His fingers found her palm and the contact made her let out a tiny gasp, like the first time she'd touched Chat untransformed, in the trap in their second year. Tigereye's hand found the macaron and picked it up and Marinette began to breathe again.

She handed the last macaron to Tikki and threw the empty box away.

"I hate transforming." Plagg's voice sounded from the other side of the wood planks.

"Just shut up and eat the tiny cookie." came Tigereye's voice in gruff reply.

Marinette cold have sworn she'd heard that voice before, but she couldn't put her finger on where. Either way, something about it seemed to put her at ease.

" _Transforme moi_ ," she said as Tikki nodded.

" _Transforme moi_." Tigereye echoed.

Ladybug gave her wings a gentle flap to test them. She knew they would be fine, but she was still not used to having them. When they moved, she felt it within the muscles of her back, and it was a strange but somehow-natural feeling sensation.

"Ladybug, I'll be honest." Tigereye beckoned. "This feels fucking ridiculous."

Ladybug turned and clapped her hand over her mouth to hide the smile and stifle the laughter that threatened to burst from her belly.

"See!" Tigereye gestured in exasperation. "Even _you_ can't take me seriously in this bullshit!"

Tigereye's suit had turned form the black-leather getup of a rockstar at a funeral to the style of some kind of goth surfer. A wetsuit tied at the waist, with a neon green rash vest and a black hawaiian shirt with green pawprints.

"I'm not even going to comment on the fucking flippers." Tigereye grumbled, his tail, now a long wetsuit arm, flickering angrily.

Ladybug fought spasms of supressed laughter.

Tigereye sighed and gave her a look-over.

Her mask was now a pair of opaque, red-hexagon-patterned black goggles, and her hair was in a single bun rather than two. Her suit looked the same, but her gloves now flared and her boots now had fur lining, and both looked like they were made of heavier materials now.

"I've… never seen you like this before." her silly-looking partner blinked in awe. "The… the wings…"

"We've - we've been able to do this for - for a while." Ladybug attempted to clear her throat, but his outfit was just too funny.

"I've lived here forever but I barely noticed the stuff you and Chat were doing most of the time." Tigereye shook his head. "Guess us civilians don’t really think about it that much, do we?"

"That just means you feel secure with us," Ladybug gave his arm a pat. "And that means we're doing our jobs right. But the Ladyblog has an archive of every known akuma and the known details of the battles defeating them. You should check that out if you want to know more about how Chat and I work."

They smiled at one another before turning to the street to approach the akuma.

"Still good on the strategy?" Ladybug checked.

"Let's do this." Tigereye nodded and cracked his knuckles.

===

Luka never wanted to look at pair of flippers again.

They were certainly helping him now that he'd made it into the giant water monster, but the journey between the street and the akuma's mass had been an awful, humiliating, _arduous_ ordeal the likes of which Luka would rather die than experience again.

He probably wouldn't be able to look himself in the eye for a while either.

 _But_.

He had to admit, breathing underwater was pretty damn cool.

Tigereye swam past the concerningly increasing number of floating people.

"Got a visual on the core?" he asked Ladybug through the comms.

[Yeah, keep going upward, you'll reach her eventually.] Ladybug encouraged. [You're an excellent swimmer, Tigereye.]

"Thanks," he said, dodging a small child. "These people are going to be okay when she's defeated, right?"

[They'll be fine.] she assured. [I predict some of them may still be a little wet, but no-one's going to be seriously hurt.]

"Good." Tigereye nodded. "Hey can you check my angle? I don’t wanna be going in the wrong direction."

[Turn a little to your left?] Ladybug suggested. [Yeah, there you go.]

"Thanks." he said. "Say, when was the first time you used a water transformation?"

[Syren.] she answered. [The day the whole of Paris flooded?]

"Shit, feel like I'd remember if Paris flooded," Tigereye had passed into an empty stretch of water monster, but he could see a speck in the distance and aimed for it.

[Maybe you were too young?] Ladybug said. [Wait, how old are you?]

"Am I…" he frowned. "Am I _allowed_ to tell you that?"

[Oh, right.] she replied.

"I mean, I could bend the rules a little and say something like," Luka smiled, feeling clever. "I know I'm two years older than Chat Noir."

[Oh!] the spotted partner buzzing in circles outside the huge blob exclaimed. [Then you'd be plenty old enough to remember Syren.]

"What else happened that day?" he frowned, getting much closer to the target.

[There was a zoo breakout that morning,] she offered.

"Wait." Luka realised. "I still lived on water, so maybe my boat floated the whole time and I honestly just didn't notice."

Ladybug's laughter sounded over the comm, and it made him smile.

"Alright, I'm close to the akuma." he said. "Let's hope this goes smoothly."

Tigereye pushed a little harder and arrived within range of the human at the core of the giant water monster.

"WE WILL ALL LIVE IN CLEAN WATERS!" the woman bellowed. "THERE WILL BE NO USELESS GARBAGE IN THE WATER EVER AGAIN!"

She was tinted blue by Papillon's magic, and Luka spotted a beaded bracelet that had turned purple on her arm.

"The akuma's a bracelet," he told Ladybug. "Snatch it?"

[I have a sneaky suspicion it won't be that easy,] she replied. [But go ahead and try first.]

Tigereye zoomed toward the akuma's arm, intent on grabbing the bracelet.

Of course, Ladybug had been correct. The akuma summoned a bubble made of the same one-way rubbery substance keeping the people inside the giant water globule. It swelled out faster than Tigereye could move, and it ejected him from the giant water monster altogether.

Ladybug swooped in and caught him before he hit the ground, taking him back up toward the head.

Her wings were incredibly loud, but not to the point of hurting his ears.

"You were right," Tigereye informed as she shuffled him in her arms, feeling like an awkward cat. "What now?"

"Gonna try my lucky charm," Ladybug yelled over the noise of her wings. "Catch it when it forms."

"AlriiiIII _III_ -" Tigereye's agreement turned into yelp as she tossed him straight up in the air.

He went quite a ways, and admittedly felt a little impressed. He knew Ladybug was strong, and he'd been thrown by Marinette before, but this was still a new sensation.

"Lucky Charm!" came her cry from below.

A swarm of magical ladybugs fluttered upward and burst into a little flashbang, leaving behind a shape in its wake. Tigereye caught it as he passed it where it was falling, and Ladybug caught him.

"What is it?" Ladybug yelled.

"SOY SAUCE!" Tigereye yelled in reply. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH SOY SAUCE?"

"How much is there?" she frowned.

"About a litre, why?" he inspected the bottle.

"Im gonna throw you back in," she told him. "Bust the bottle in her little bubble."

Tigereye nodded and considered how he was going to protect the bottle on re-entry.

Then she threw him and he curled around it, puncturing the enormous water monster by the flat of his back.

If he hadn't been transformed, it would really have hurt.

[Hurry, Tigereye, I need to purify it and we only have a few minutes!] Ladybug urged.

He nodded and started swimming toward the victim again.

Once he got to the bubble, he went around to her back, out of her field of vision. He poked his hand past the rubbery bubble and smashed the bottle open with his baton.

The soy sauce inside spilled out and began to spread within the bubble.

Tigereye grabbed the akuma's hand as she panicked within the cloudy liquid and tore away the beaded bracelet, snapping it with his hands.

The black butterfly began to make its way through the water towards the open air, where Ladybug was waiting to snag and purify it.

Luka remembered that at least a piece of the Lucky Charm was needed to fix everything, so he floundered for a piece of the glass bottle.

[Tigereye,] Ladybug's voice came, panicked. [I purified the akuma but it took forever to make it out, I'm going to detransform in a second, don't worry, you can do the cure-]

Through the image-distorting water, Tigereye watched Ladybug flash in pink light and drop out of the sky.

He immediately swam for where she'd be falling to, not liking the idea of knowing her identity but liking the idea of her dying even less.

But it was that moment the water in the huge glob monster lost its magical ability to stay upright, and began to fall back to earth.

Tigereye felt the pull of gravity and the increasing weight of gallons of water dragging him downward. The liquid structure was beginning to fall apart. The dozens of soaked people who had been inside the mass were falling between the large blobs of water.

One of those people was Marinette.

Tigereye's reaction was visceral and instant. He burst out of the massive pillar of liquid, snatched Marinette out of mid-air, stuck to the adjacent building and threw the broken bottle into the sky, yelling "Miraculous Ladybug!" and praying it worked.

He nearly dropped Marinette in relief when it did.

They were both gasping for air from the ordeals as the water of the Seine was returned to its rightful path in the riverbed and the people, some still wet, were returned to the banks. The akuma victim got up and walked off without further ado.

With a heaving sigh and weak laughter, Tigereye turned to Marinette.

"You alright?" he asked.

She was staring, her cheeks were flushed, and she was soaked through, but she nodded anyway.

He nodded in reply and took out the baton to lower them to the ground.

"See you later," he said, and ran away best he could with the stupid fucking flippers on his feet.

===

"Marinette!" Luka called, hoping the echo down the alleyway would make it sound like he'd been looking for her for a while. "Marinette!"

"Luka!" came a reply, a little ways from where he'd left her.

Luka stumbled out into the street and looked around frantically.

"I'd hug you, but I'm all wet," Marinette apologized, squeezing water out of her hair and onto the pavement.

She'd taken off her flats, because walking in squishy shoes would have been uncomfortable, and all her clothes were soaked… including her very thin and light pink blouse, that was now almost translucent, and was showing her bra underneath.

"Oh geez," he gulped and immediately took off his own shirt and held it out for her.

"Thanks, Luka, but I don't need-" Marinette giggled.

"Your shirt's gone see-through," Luka tried not to look directly at her, blushing furiously.

Marinette frowned and looked down.

"Eek!" Marinette snatched the shirt and wrangled it on.

It was far too big for her, much like Adrien's, but it covered her soaked shirt and the bra he knew was visible but hadn't looked at long enough to identify, so it would do.

It made his blush worse, though.

"Thanks, Luka," she smiled. "But I think you're more exposed than I was now."

"It's not like I'm gonna get ticketed for public indecency on the five minute walk to the van," Luka shrugged, offering his arm. "C'mon."

Marinette curled into his side, and despite everything that had just happened, they walked with smiles on their faces.

===

They made it to the van with barely more than a disapproving glare.

"You can take this back now," Marinette took off the shirt. "I have my cardigan."

"Sure?" Luka checked. "I can just wear my jacket?"

"Yes, Luka," Marinette teased. "Put this on so I can hug you without losing an eye to your piercings."

Luka rolled his eyes and put on the shirt again. It was slightly damp, but at least it was cool to the touch on the hot day.

Before Marinette shrugged on her cardigan, Luka realised the bra was the same one she'd showed him yesterday.

Marinette hugged him and he hugged back, but he couldn't stop blushing.

An idea had occurred to him and he wasn't able to shake it.

"Luka, what's wrong?" she sighed, but her eyes were gentle.

"Mm?" he looked down at her, jolted from his thoughts.

"I know that look. C'mon," she reached up and booped his nose. "What did you think of?"

Luka was currently thinking of kissing down Marinette's arm all the way to her face, pulling her into the back of the van, removing as many of her clothes as she'd let him and ravishing her for a good hour, but he shook those ideas as quickly as possible.

"Your underwear," he admitted, waiting for a slap or a scolding.

"Oh, you saw them," she bit her lip.

"Sorry." Luka sighed.

"I mean, you've seen these before and you'll probably see them again at some point," Marinette blurted nervously. "It's fine!"

That little slip had given him more ideas and he swallowed.

"Marinette?" he whispered.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Can I ask you a question about… what you showed me yesterday morning?" Luka's throat felt tight.

"Only if I get to ask you a question about it, too." Marinette replied, moving around to get into the van.

"D-deal," he stuttered, closing the side door and heading for the driver seat.

"What's your question, then?" she asked once he was clipped in.

"Did…" Luka took a deep breath. "Did you… did you, specifically make that… that specific one… for me, specifically?"

Marinette went bright red and blinked a dozen times.

"Sorry," Luka reached for the keys. "You don't have to answe-"

"Before I answer," Marinette squeaked, then cleared her throat. "How… did you get that idea?"

"Well…" he bit his lip. "It's… everything I like. It's my favorite colors, it's got a zip instead of the…"

"Hooky thingies?" she supplied with a smug smile.

"Hooky thingies," Luka took a deep breath and continued, falling into a ramble. "And the design of the panties really makes your butt stand out, and you know I think your butt's amazing, and I know that _you_ know everything I like by now and I just can't help but wonder if you-"

Marinette scooted along the seat of the van to his side and shushed him with her finger.

"I couldn't honestly tell you why," she told him quietly. "But… yes, I did design this set with you in mind."

Luka went red and she pressed her head to his.

"And, now, my question," Marinette swallowed. "Is… do you s-save my photos… to use them… for…"

It took approximately ten seconds for Luka to realise what she was insinuating.

"God no!" he yelped, retracting from her a little. "No, I never!"

"Why… why not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, they're not _for_ that," Luka cocked his head, a little confused. "You send them because you want advice. And you probably… don't want me to do that with a picture of you."

"Why would I keep sending them if I wasn't okay with you doing that?" Marinette questioned, and realised she was also asking herself that.

"Because you trust me." he looked at her in concern. "Don't you?"

"Yes, yes," she nodded her head frantically, reaching for his face to reassure. "I trust you, please don’t think I don’t!"

"But you thought I was…" Luka swallowed.

"I… I suspected it," Marinette admitted. "But you give such good critique, I… sort of just ignored the idea."

"So if I did… want to use them for that," he frowned. "You would still let me save them?"

"Well… I mean… if you _weren't_ using them for that…" she cocked her head. "Why _do_ you save them?"

"Because they're important to you," Luka replied. "And you're important to me."

Marinette went red again. She looked at him with something like wonder mixed with curiosity.

She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"You're important to me, too." Marinette said, moving back to her seat and putting her seatbelt on. "Home now?"

"Home now." he repeated, and started the engine.

Her hand asked to hold his for a minute on the way, and he accepted with a smile.

===

"Shit, what happened to you?" Nino asked from the couch as soon as they walked in the door.

Marinette's hair was drying, but it was still quite evident that she'd been through something as she ducked past them and into her room.

"Akuma." Luka informed, putting his phone on charge and taking the skating bag into his own room.

"What?!" Adrien gaped. "What akuma?"

"Where's your phone?" Nino pushed his glasses up his nose. "Don't you have an alert?"

"I haven't set one on my new phone." Adrien smacked his forehead.

"Relax, dude, just set it now." Nino waved the phone in question and Adrien took it.

"What kind of akuma?" Adrien asked Luka as he approached them.

"Big fuckin', like, water thingy," Luka replied, plopping down beside him.

"Sucked up the whole Seine!" Marinette added from the bedroom. "And a bunch of people, including me."

"So, what," Nino asked. "Ladybug and the new guy bust out the Aqua powers and take it down?"

"His name is Tigereye!" Marinette informed, walking out with a towel in her hands. "And I'm just gonna have a shower real quick, okay?"

"Yeah, go for it." Luka nodded, then turned to his companions. "Actually… Ladybug was flying."

"She used her Aerial transformation?" Adrien frowned. "Why?"

Luka glanced down the hallway to check the door was shut, then lowered his voice.

"That was all we had. One little food thingy for water and one for flight." he whispered. "So I used the water one and she used the flight one."

"Cause you left mine here," Adrien smacked his forehead again. "I should have told you that you have to carry it everywhere."

"I know now." Luka assured, putting a hand on Adrien's arm and listening for whether the water was still running. "But like, if you have some and she has some, and you use them when she does, wouldn't you be low, too?"

"I have two left, I think." Adrien nodded. "We were due for a refill from Master Fu."

"I can get you guys some more for Plagg." Nino murmured. "Ladybug usually comes to get more for Tikki herself."

Adrien and Luka looked at Nino, then each other, then Nino again.

"How?" Adrien breathed.

"How what?" Marinette asked, clad only in her towel.

"How do I do the last question on the Arts homework?" Adrien switched so instantly Luka was impressed.

"Oh! The one about theatre?" Marinette cocked her head. "I can help you with that one."

"Would you?" Adrien smiled. "I've been stuck on it for a while."

"Yeah!" Marinette stepped over and bent a little. "Show me the paper?"

Adrien couldn't reply. He was fixated on the fact that under the towel, she was naked. Luka shuffled, trying not to fall into the same state.

"Mari," Nino cleared his throat, cheeks flushing. "You… gonna get dressed first?"

"What?" she blinked, then looked down and squeaked. "OH, GO- SORRY!"

She bolted to the room and slammed the door.

"SORRY!" Marinette yelled again, muffled.

"Fuck, she really is too cute." Nino sighed and shook his head. "I guess that's my cue to go."

Adrien was still frozen. Luka was staring intently out the window.

"Dorks." Nino chuckled. "C'mon. Mari'll wanna help with that theatre question."

He snapped his fingers in front of Adrien's face to bring him back to reality, then stood up to go.

"Wait, you didn't answer _our_ que-" Luka protested, but Nino kissed him on the cheek and he fell silent.

"I can't," Nino whispered in his ear, then pulled back and gave him a wink.

Adrien blinked, but Nino gave him a kiss in kind and a half-hug and he smiled, and they waved and Nino left.

"Alright!" Marinette announced, coming out the door. "Fully clothed. Now, where's that paper?"

"It's, uh…" Adrien looked around the whole room, and found the stack of papers by his feet. "Somewhere in here. Nino was helping me with them."

"Okay!" Marinette plonked down beside him. "Let's go through and see what we can do."

"Uni work?" Luka guessed. "What's your major, sunshine?"

"Double degree." Adrien said, sticking his tongue out as he rifled through the papers. "Business and Arts."

"Oh, same as Marinette." Luka realized.

"Yeah," Marinette nodded. "We enrolled together so we could help each other out with everything."

"Unfortunately," Adrien frowned. "We only have a few classes together, Costume Tech, Marketing and Management."

"Why only those two?" Luka cocked his head.

"I'm only in Business for my father, so I'm just… training to run _Gabriel_." Adrien shrugged. "But Mari's in Business for herself."

"I gotta take all the subjects to help me build from the ground up." Marinette nodded.

"But only one of your arts subjects overlap?" Luka frowned.

"I'm in for fashion, obviously." she said. "But Adrien's in for acting."

"Acting?" he smiled.

Adrien went pink and paused his paper-searching, and then he looked at Marinette and she gave his arm a squeeze.

"Everyone gives me shit for it," Adrien said, for some reason, nervous. "But… my mother was an actress and… like, I've already spent a long time in front of cameras, so I don't get stage fright and-and…"

"Easy, sunshine." Luka gave him a squeeze. "I think that's cool."

"You do?" Adrien looked… shocked.

"I mean, you've got the looks for it," Luka poked his cheek lightly. "And you're pretty good under pressure."

Adrien's nose crinkled at the unexpected touch and Luka's heart skipped a beat.

"You'll be taking us to premieres in no time." he winked. "We'll all be wearing _Marinette_ originals."

Both his roommates blushed and made silly smiles.

"I'll let you guys do your homework." Luka decided to leave them on a positive note. "I'm gonna take a shower."

And he got up to do just that.

===

Luka walked out again to Marinette in Adrien's lap. This was not unusual, since Marinette's small stature meant sitting as such was simply a matter of efficiency. They were both focused on the laptop in their laps, papers strewn everywhere.

"Alright," Marinette flapped around for a paper, eventually grabbing one to their right. "Uh…"

Once she centred herself again, Adrien settled his chin atop her head and a small smile crossed his lips.

"Yeah," she nodded. "'Compare and contrast the accuracy of costumes in period works'. So they want one that's done it wrong, and one that's done it right. Two of each if you wanna blow them away, but one of each will get you a passing grade easy."

"God, you're a lifesaver, Mari," Adrien clicked something on the screen and began to type. "I'd be so lost if I didn't have you."

"Pffft," Marinette looked up at him. "C'mon, you're way smart enough to ace these."

"But you know everything about fashion," Adrien stuck out his tongue in concentration as he typed something in particular. "I just wear it on billboards."

"Well, if you pass this course, you'll be wearing it on the big screen, too." Marinette reached up and scritched in his hair affectionately. "And you have my full expertise at your disposal."

Adrien made a content expression and nuzzled her. His head made the slightest movement, as if he'd gone to kiss her but thought better of it.

"So which examples should I use?" he asked, voice slightly muffled by her hair.

"I used _Les Miserables_ and Marie Antoinette because I wanted to make it hard," she replied. "But you could use something easy, like Downton Abbey versus Pirates of the Caribbean."

"…Pirates of the Caribbean did it wrong?" Adrien frowned.

Marinette burst into giggles.

"What?" Adrien demanded dramatically.

"Nothing," she kept giggling. "Nothing, Adrien, don't worry."

"Like hell it's nothing," he accused. "Remember, I know you, Marinette."

"You're just…" Marinette shook her head as her laughter faded. "You're just really…"

"I'm what?" Adrien asked in her ear, arms wrapping around her middle.

"Cute." she smiled. "You're just really cute sometimes, Adrien."

Adrien's face went pink, but after a second, a mischievous smile split across it.

"I thought I was cute all the time?" he said voice low.

"No, you're _hot_ all the time, there's a difference." Marinette replied absentmindedly, chewing her pen and looking between the paper and the screen.

"Why, thank you, Mari," Adrien purred into her neck.

Her reaction was slow and intense, a bright red hue blooming on her cheeks and the pen falling from her lips. Then, in their shocked and unblinking state, her eyes landed on Luka.

"Luka!" she exclaimed.

Adrien looked up, too, and blinked his big green eyes at him.

"How long have you been standing like that?"

Luka shifted, suddenly grounded again. He hadn't realised he'd been leaning on one shoulder against the hall wall, nor that he'd just been watching them contently.

"I… I dunno," he said honestly.

"You can join us, if you like?" Adrien offered.

"Nah, you guys looked like you had it down." Luka shook his head. "I'm gonna go pick up some dinner."

"Oh!" Marinette waved. "Can we do Indian? I need something spicy."

"Yeah," Luka smiled. "See you guys in a bit."

The last thing he heard as he closed the door was Adrien's voice.

"… Okay, but, how _did_ Pirates of the Caribbean do it wrong?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had more time to write this week and the next chapter is almost entirely writte in my head so it shouldn't take long to get onto the page for next week!!
> 
> upd8s glaore
> 
> see yall next time


	18. Chapter 18

"Ok, so, like," Luka frowned. "What was Syren?"

"Syren was the first water akuma," Adrien replied, scrolling down the page again. "Well, ok, no, there were 'water'-" he air-quoted "-akumas before that, but Syren was the first one that required fighting underwater for an indefinite amount of time."

"Right," Luka shifted his leg, hoping his knee wasn't digging into Adrien's side as he lay against him for their late-night study session. "So that was the first time you guys used transformations."

"Yep. The second was Patineur," Adrien informed, clicking the corresponding link. "The day we all went to the rink together."

"Was he the first ever ice akuma?" Luka asked.

"There was Bother Christmas," Adrien said. "But I don't know if he counts as 'ice', per se. And Climatika had ice powers, but that was just among her whole-" he waved a hand in an explanatory gesture "-atmospheric arsenal."

"So how many transformations are there?" Luka wasn’t sure what to do with his arms, so he just returned them to Adrien's shoulders.

"Seven," Adrien craned his neck back to look at Luka's face. "Do you want me to move, cause I can move?"

"No," Luka shook his head quickly. "I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable while we're sitting like this."

"I'm not uncomfortable," Adrien assured. "I just don't want to be squishing you."

"Don't worry, you're not squishing me." Luka gave an encouraging smile.

Adrien beamed back and looked back to the laptop.

"So how do I know which transformation to use?" Luka asked.

"Akumas are classified by size, environment and ability," Adrien pulled up two images. "Take your massive water blob from today, Clearwater."

He pointed to the photo of the giant monster.

"This is a Giant, Water, Hostage Holder." Adrien listed. "And then something like Volpina, here…"

Adrien pointed to a young woman wearing a bright orange, white and black costume. It hurt Luka's eyes to look at.

"Volpina was Natural, Ground, Deceiver."

Luka noticed Adrien's tone lower to something almost like a growl while he spoke those words.

"Was she… particularly bad?" Luka asked softly.

"Lila was…" Adrien frowned. "Lila was a special brand of bitch."

Luka had never heard Adrien use that word.

"She _lied_ to everyone." Adrien growled. "She stole a book, my _father's_ book, that got me _grounded_ from _going outside_. She bought a fake miraculous to make me think she was a superhero. She got akumatised and convinced the whole city she _was_ a superhero. She tried to throw an illusion of me off the Eiffel Tower and almost got Ladybug to give up her earrings."

Luka felt the muscles of Adrien's shoulders and back tense.

"Half of Paris still asks why Volpina never returned." Adrien muttered. "She deceived everyone. I hate it."

"Where is she now?" Luka asked, concerned.

"Italy." Adrien huffed. "After everything, every chance we gave her, she just played the victim and begged to be taken back."

"Yikes." Luka sighed. "At least she's gone."

"Yeah," Adrien shook his head. "Sorry, I know that must have come out of nowhere."

"No, I get it," Luka replied. "But you can breathe easy now, sunshine. Seems like she can't fuck with you anymore."

"True," Adrien admitted.

"You should relax, now," Luka coaxed, giving the tensed shoulders beneath his palms a gentle squeeze, and then getting an idea and beginning to massage them. "It's late and it'll keep you up if you don't."

"My sleep's been out of whack anyway," Adrien shifted with the movements. "Maybe I should stay up a night."

"That's not healthy." Luka kept working the broad shoulders. "You have to take care of yourself."

"Mmm…" came a non-committal hum that slipped into a little groan of satisfaction.

"Hey, tell me more about these labels for akumas." Luka suggested, hoping to get Adrien's mind off of this Lila girl and his own mind off the sounds coming from Adrien.

"Mmm, okay." Adrien mumbled happily and focused on the screen again. "So, there are three categories for size, Shrunken, Natural and Giant. We haven't had a huge amount of shrunken akumas, I think it was only Despair Bear."

"Ok, so they're usually either normal sized or super big?" Luka checked.

"Mm-hm." Adrien rolled his head back, eyes closed and smiling softly. "This feels really good."

"Good." Luka smiled. "So what about environment?"

"Ground, Sky, Water, Ice, Tech, Fire." Adrien said without moving, clearly having memorised the list. "Those are the ones we encounter most, anyway."

"And the transformations are for environment stuff?" Luka asked, trying not to think about how Adrien's face was _right there_ and it would only take a single movement to kiss him.

"Yeah." Adrien sighed happily. "If it's a Sky akuma, use aerial. Water, use aqua, etcetera. Ladybug generally has a pretty good handle on when you'll need one or not, so just follow her lead and you'll never have any problems."

"Oh, hey, the baton was heavier in my Aqua transformation." Luka remembered. "What was up with that?"

"The extra weight makes it easier to use underwater." Adrien shifted a little, and Luka eased on the massaging in case he'd been at it too long and was making his shoulders sore. "Ladybug's yo-yo gets heavier, too. Water density means they need more momentum to be effective."

"Right," Luka hummed thoughtfully.

"In the Aerial transformation, the weapons get lighter to aid with flight." Adrien went on. "In the Ice, they get slightly rougher surfaces so they can't slip out of your hands."

"Aren't the tools indestructible?" Luka asked. 

"Yes, they are," Adrien nodded, his hair mussing against Luka's shirt. "They're made of this… really weird metal infused with kwami energy, the same as the miraculouses themselves."

Adrien tugged Luka's right hand off his shoulder and held it gently to show the ring.

"The only thing that can destroy either of them is Cataclysm." Adrien said quietly.

Luka stopped massaging and paused to ponder that.

"So…" Adrien leant his head back to look up at him again. "Please don't get akumatized, or then we're all in trouble."

"Promise." Luka booped his nose to Adrien's forehead.

"Good." Adrien beamed, and his eyes squinted happily.

"Should I ask about the ability category?" Luka asked.

"I mean, it's a big category, way more labels than the first two." Adrien yawned and shifted, pressing right up against him. "And every akuma's different anyway. Papillon is pretty creative. Just… don't get hit, always think about how to approach stuff, and you'll be fine."

"But you got hit a lot," Luka prodded.

"Yeah. One time I died." Adrien said, casual as anything, closing his eyes and slowly falling asleep.

"You _died_?!" Luka hissed, startled.

"Timebreaker." Adrien mumbled, voice getting weaker. "Anyone she touched ceased to exist, and she was going to get Ladybug, so I jumped in the way. Timebreaker hit every possible witness in the area first, so nobody knows except Ladybug."

"Adrien," Luka put his hands to his friend's cheeks and tugged his head back again. "Adrien, why did you do that?"

"I had no choice." Adrien replied sleepily. "Ladybug is the only one who can fix everything. If she dies, we're all fucked."

"But did you have to get yourself killed?" Luka demanded.

"I mean, I came back." Adrien shrugged weakly, voice barely more than a breath. "It doesn’t matter what happens to me, anyway."

"Like _fuck_ it doesn't matter, dude!" Luka hissed.

Adrien opened one eye to look up at him.

"Everyone would be upset if you died." Luka told him firmly. " _Everyone._ "

Adrien gave that innocent and sympathetic expression that signalled Luka he didn't believe him, so Luka leaned in close.

"If you died, Marinette would _cry_. _A lot_." Luka warned, tone and intention somewhere between convicting and teasing. "Do you want Marinette to cry, Adrien?"

"Luka," Adrien protested with a weak smile, likely wanting to just brush this off.

" _Do you want her to cry, Adrien_?" Luka repeated, eyebrows raised.

"No, I don't want Mari to cry." Adrien admitted.

"Better not die then, huh?" Luka goaded.

"I won't die if you won't get akumatised." Adrien replied in challenge.

"Deal," Luka smiled.

"Can we go to sleep now?" Adrien yawned again.

"Yes, sunshine." Luka gave his cheek a pat. "Gimme the laptop so I can put it on the floor."

===

The boys were woken the next morning by a prolonged scream.

Luka instinctually tried to move, but Adrien had one of his legs trapped.

"LUKA!" Marinette burst through the door. "LUKA, YOU HAVE TO DRIVE ME HOME!"

Adrien and Luka both sat up, bewildered, and rubbed their eyes. Marinette, desperate for an as of yet unknown reason, crawled onto the bed and right up to him at astounding speed.

She was still in his hoodie, hair untouched, so clearly she'd only just woken up, but she was breathing heavy and her hands were shaking.

"Jesus, Mari, are you alright?" Adrien yawned, but remained focused.

"NO!" Marinette yelped. "I HAVE TO GET HOME RIGHT NOW!"

"Why?" Luka shook his head, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I have to-" she swallowed mid-sentence, her mouth running dry from trying to speak too fast, and she panted in distress.

"Easy, baby, breathe," Luka soothed, reaching out and putting his hand to her cheek. "Breathe."

"Slow down, Mari," Adrien said, doing the exact same to her other cheek. "We can't help if we don't know what's wrong."

She swallowed again and looked between them, still panting, still shaking.

"C'mon, with me," Luka coaxed. "In-"

He breathed in deeply and Marinette followed suit.

"Out." Adrien joined.

She and Luka let out their breaths and the boys encouraged her and went through it twice more. Slowly, her heaving evened out, but she was still upset.

"Alright," Adrien murmured. "Talk to us, Mari."

"Tell us what's wrong," Luka stroked his thumb along her cheek.

"I forgot to go home yesterday." Marinette's lip trembled. "After the akuma, it completely slipped my mind. I need to go water my flowers or they'll…"

Her voice squeezed into a whimper and she choked on the words, clearly fighting off tears.

"Your flowers are gonna be fine," Adrien told her. "They're gonna be fine."

"What about my family tree?" Marinette protested. "Grandma will kill me if it dies!"

"That thing's what, forty years old?" Luka shook his head. "It'll survive one day without water."

"But the roses might not!" Marinette squeaked.

"Marinette, we'll help you go water your flowers." Adrien promised. "But you need to go get dressed and do your hair first."

She looked between their concerned and gentle expressions, felt their hands on her cheeks, and took a deep breath and hugged them.

"It's alright." Luka soothed, giving her a squeeze. "You're okay, and the flowers are okay."

"What if they arent?" she asked weakly.

"Then you can blame me for keeping you with the homework for so long," Adrien shrugged easily, nudging her gently. "And I'll help you replace the plants, step-by-step."

Marinette blinked at him, and then, after another moment of looking between them, she kissed him, softly, this time on the lips instead of her usual target of cheek, and Adrien froze and went bright red before she did the same for Luka.

Without further word - but one or two unreadable glances to their faces - Marinette slowly clambered off the bed and headed for the door.

Luka turned to Adrien, the most awkward and blatant of huge smiles growing on his face, and moved to bury his stupid grin in his bedmate's shoulder, seeking more affection. Adrien was still so stunned that all he could do in response was move an arm up for a half hug.

"Hold on," Marinette frowned, turning at the doorway. "Luka, did you call me baby?"

Luka snapped to attention, the ghost of the silly smile fading off his face.

"Did…" he frowned, unable to remember by merit of only just having woken up and the kiss having soft-reset his entire brain. "Did I?"

Marinette thought on it a moment more and then gave a little dismissive hum and a shrug and went away.

Luka looked over. Adrien was still frozen, still stunned.

"You good, sunshine?" Luka chuckled, still weak and very flustered himself, but suspecting Adrien was far more so.

Adrien made a noise halfway between a whimper and a moan, and, unblinking, lay back down, confirming that Marinette's gentle kiss had all but killed him.

Luka laughed softly and scritched in his hair affectionately. Adrien's eyes squinted and slowly closed and a little satisfied sigh slipped from his lips.

Luka decided now would be a good time to get up, before the urge to smother Adrien in kisses and cuddles got any stronger.

===

Luka leant on the balcony railing and watched the clouds begin to gather in the sky.

Marinette was watering the flowers.

"Think it'll rain?" he asked.

"Maybe." she replied. "If it does, I'm gonna have to stay in. I'm sure as hell not swimming today, I got plenty of water yesterday."

"That's fair," Luka nodded. "It'll suck not to know which swimsuit you were gonna wear, though."

"Probably my polka dots." she smirked over her shoulder. "Too bad."

"There isn’t any way I could convince you to change your mind about that?" Luka gulped.

He loved her polka dot swimsuit. Luka was never going to be sure how Marinette managed to be both extremely sexy and extremely cute at the same time, but he was never going to complain about it, either.

Her response was a teasing smile.

"You have fun taunting me like this, don't you." Luka accused playfully.

"Lots." she winked, turning to water the herb box.

"Do you tease Adrien like this?" he mused.

"I don't see him enough to tease him like this." Marinette replied matter-of-factly.

"What, you don't tease him in school?" Luka cocked his head.

"We’re in _class_ then, dummy." she retorted in jest, turning on him. "Remember what class was like? Or are you too old now?"

"Oh, I remember," he smiled. "And it's exactly why I left early."

"Ah, yes," Marinette shook her head as she put the watering can back in its spot and walked towards him. "Mister Freedom, forever flowing like the very Seine he lives on. Nothing can keep you in, no classroom, no jail cell, no man and no woman."

"Harsh, Marinette," Luka put his hand to his heart, half-genuinely stung by the accusation.

"Alright, alright," she conceded. "Maybe the 'man or woman' bit was a tad mean."

The longer he thought about it, the more the smile faded from his face.

"Hey, no, I'm sorry," Marinette put her hands on his arms. "I'm sorry, I know that's not… I know that it isn't - I'm sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that."

"It's okay," Luka shrugged. "It's not like it matters anymore."

"But it can still hurt," Marinette hugged him. "I'm sorry, Luka."

Luka hugged back.

She kissed his cheek.

He kissed hers.

"Do you forgive me?" she asked shyly.

"Duh," he smiled a weak smile. "I just hope you don't think less of me cause I haven't kept a partner long."

"Absolutely not!" Marinette squeaked. "You're awesome, Luka, and all those people didn’t know what they had."

His smile became genuine again.

"And, you tell me all the time," she blabbered on in his arms. "If you really want someone, you'll find them. And you can't stop it, but you can't _make_ it happen either. You just gotta…"

"Keep trying," Luka finished, nuzzling her cheek affectionately. "Yeah."

She hummed happily and they shared a chuckle.

He almost asked her, right then and there, if she would be his. If the kisses were anything to go by, there was a very real chance she could have said yes, and he would have been the happiest man in the world.

But… would starting something with her drive Adrien away? Would Adrien feel left out? Betrayed? Rejected?

And Marinette and Adrien seemed so close, still. What if she only wanted him?

She always kissed Adrien first…

"Hey, Marinette…" Luka swallowed. "Is… is there a reason you always kiss Adrien first?"

Marinette's face opened up in surprise and he felt her chest press lightly against his as she gasped.

"Oh, no, Luka," she put her hands up to his face, seemingly worried. "It's not what you think…"

He blinked, confused and now concerned.

"Adrien is…" Marinette bit her lip. "Adrien is scared of being abandoned."

Luka realised this made a lot of things make sense.

"After his mom…" she swallowed. "And then his dad just shut him out… he just can't handle feeling replaced or ignored."

Luka began to hurt for Adrien.

"Adrien knows we've kissed before." Marinette told Luka. "If I kiss you first, he'll think I'm choosing you over him."

He honestly didn't know how he felt about that.

"And it wouldn't matter that it's not true," she closed her eyes and took a breath. "That I love you both exactly the same, I love both of you so much… he'd think it was anyway."

Luka hugged her close.

"I kiss Adrien first because I figured you wouldn't mind what order I kiss you in," Marinette squeezed back. "But I'm really sorry if I made you feel like you aren't important to me, Luka, I can… I can…"

"No, no, I get it, I completely understand," Luka pulled back. "He needs it. I get that. I'm happy that you wanna kiss me at all."

She smiled and snuggled his chest.

"You think it'd help if I started kissing him first, too?" he wondered aloud.

Marinette burst into giggles.

"If he's alright with being kissed by you." she said. "I mean, it probably wouldn't make it worse."

Luka nodded thoughtfully.

 _But kiss me, now,_ Marinette begged silently. _Please kiss me. Please. I want to be kissed. I want you to kiss me. I want to kiss you._

"Could I, by any chance, kiss you, right now, though?" Luka asked.

"Please," Marinette sighed.

He hummed happily and leant down, and she closed her eyes and waited for the brush of his lips against hers.

Instead, she was rained on. Heavily.

"OH, C'MON!" Luka complained loudly at the water-spewing sky. "I CANT KISS HER?"

A rumble of thunder sounded, as if to reply 'no'.

Marinette laughed and kissed Luka's cheek, pulling him towards the skylight and down into shelter.

She fell back onto her bare mattress, and Luka fell atop her after closing the trapdoor behind him, but instead of dwelling on the suggestive position, they laughed again and kept moving. 

After checking for all their belongings, they darted though the house and out to the van, trying not to get wet.

===

"Well." Marinette sighed, looking out the apartment window. "Guess swimming is cancelled."

"Sorry," Luka offered sympathetically. "I hate it when I have to cancel plans, too."

"What am I gonna do for the rest of the day?" she pouted.

"How about you get that rest and relaxation time you couldn't have yesterday?" he coaxed, wrapping his arms around her middle from behind and talking in her ear. "We can put on a little music and sit down somewhere and do absolutely nothing all day."

Marinette made a considering hum.

"We could also go join in on Adrien's fuckin'… nap marathon he's got going on in there." Luka chuckled. "I think that's about as relaxed as anyone can get."

She papped his arm twice, her unspoken signal to release her, and he let her out and followed her as she made her way to the bedroom.

"He does look peaceful," Marinette admitted.

Adrien was curled around a pillow on Luka's side of the bed, hugging it tightly and snoring lightly.

Marinette smiled and walked over and sat beside him, reaching up to scritch in his hair. He reacted even in his sleep, humming and shifting towards her.

"Chat will sleep for hours like this." Marinette said softly. "It's cute, but I always wonder if he has other places to be."

"Being with you is the best place to be, Mari…" Adrien replied sleepily.

Marinette went pink and giggled quietly, still scritching. She looked out the bedroom window and bit her lip at the continuous rain.

"We can still join him." Luka offered.

"Mm… come join me, princess…" Adrien hummed.

Marinette's brow furrowed and she looked down from the window. Luka inwardly panicked.

If he didn't distract her, she might pick up on the slip-up.

"God, I love sleepy mumbles." Luka smiled, coming over to sit beside Adrien's head. "They make no sense."

"They can be cute, can't they," Marinette agreed, brushing a stray strand of blond hair out of Adrien's face.

"Doesn't help that Adrien's already cute enough by himself." Luka mused, confident he'd pulled her onto a far less disastrous train of thought.

"Mari's cuter," Adrien argued, _still_ asleep.

Marinette went red and looked like she was going to protest, but Luka just couldn't help himself.

"Nah, you're both solid tens." Luka smiled.

Marinette blinked and pouted and blew a not-really-offended little huff in dramatic exasperation. Luka wanted to kiss her little scrunched up nose.

"You flatterer," Adrien mumbled.

"I speak only truths," Luka said.

Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Guys." Adrien grumbled. "Either get into bed with me or leave me to my nap."

"That'll be hard, sunshine," Luka answered, poking at one of Adrien's arms. "No room."

"Go, then." Adrien sassed, rolling over.

"Ouch," Luka pouted. "You wound me, Adrien."

"Be wounded quietly, then," Adrien shuffled.

"Adrien, that's not very nice," Marinette poked his arm gently.

"I am not nice," Adrien mumbled, becoming less coherent with every word. "I'm a stone cold killer…"

And then he was snoozing again.

Marinette sighed and smiled. Luka shook his head and did the same.

Marinette leant over and smooched Adrien's cheek.

The rain began to fall harder out the window.

"Guess we're not joining the nap." Marinette whispered. "Any suggestions?"

A small grumble came from her stomach.

"We could start with late breakfast." Luka smiled.

Marinette blushed and he stood up and they headed out to the kitchen.

Luka offered juice from the fridge, and Marinette nodded.

She held up the bread bag, inquiring about the possibility of toast, and he nodded.

Luka pointed to the bedroom door, asking if they should make any for Adrien, but Marinette shook her head.

As they watched the glow of the red-hot wires in the toaster, Luka took a sip of his juice and noticed his nail polish had chipped. Upon further inspection, all his nails looked pretty worse for wear. 

He hadn't done them since before the move, which was almost three weeks now.

Definitely time for a touch up.

"Hmm." Luka frowned.

"Mm?" Marinette turned from the bench.

Luka showed her the nails.

"Time to redo." she commented.

"Wanna do 'em with me?" he grinned.

"I…" Marinette chewed her lip.

"C'mon," Luka coaxed. "We can make 'em all pretty."

"You know my nails just get ruined all the time." she pouted, turning to the toaster as it popped.

"So?" he questioned. "It's still nice for a little while."

"Mmm…" Marinette hummed, buttering the toast. "Maybe…"

"C'mon, Ma-Ma-Marinette," Luka put his hands on her shoulders and began to rub. "We can just sit and do our nails and listen to the rain."

Her head rocked to one side and her hands paused the buttering.

"I'll do everything," he promised quietly. "And you can sit back and relax."

"Mmm," she hummed. "Alright, but can I eat my toast first?" 

"Yes," Luka nuzzled her head. "I have to eat mine, too."

After the promised toast, Marinette went to change into comfy clothes, and Luka snuck back into his room for his briefcase.

He positioned himself on the couch and waited.

Marinette returned in a singlet and sweatpants and, instead of sitting beside him, climbed straight into Luka's lap without fuss, surprising and delighting him.

Ignoring the urge to kiss the freckled skin of her neck and shoulder, Luka reached around her for the briefcase and popped it open.

"So," Luka said, gesturing to the contents. "What would you like?"

Marinette chuckled.

"I don’t know, there are so many options." she said, reaching out to brush her finger against one or two of the little neatly arranged rainbow of colored bottles.

"I think I'm gonna put decals on mine," he lifted up a little sheet, searching for something to spark his interest.

"Oh, little…" Marinette cocked her head. "Could… could you do black nails with green pawprints?"

"Sure can," Luka rested his chin on her shoulder. "Is that what you want?"

"Yeah…" she replied. "Is that okay?"

"Of course," he said. "Any ideas for what I should do on mine?" 

"Hmm." Marinette held up his hand to her face, as if looking closer would help her decide. "You always do black, so maybe do blue this time?"

"Blue it is." Luka smiled.

He began by removing the old polish from his own nails.

"God, I hate that smell," Marinette complained softly through her held nose.

"You and me both, love," Luka replied.

Luka didn't realise the weight of the little slip until a good few minutes after it happened, as he was cleaning and checking Marinette's nails for small cracks or chips, and he froze, hoping that she hadn't noticed it, or that if she had, that she hadn't minded.

He didn't dare hope that she'd liked it. That would just be setting himself up for misery.

"They don't look too bad, do they?" she asked, turning to see him.

"No, no, they're good," he assured. "You could do with some moisturizer, though, soften your skin up a little."

"My hands are plenty soft already," Marinette defended.

"I know they are," Luka lightly squeezed her left hand, the one he was currently working. "But they can always be softer."

"I know yours could be," she teased.

"Am… am I too rough?" he froze again, immediately letting go of her hand. "Fuck, I'm sorry-"

"No, no, Luka," Marinette swivelled a ways in his lap. "I just meant… your fingers. Your fingers are tough."

Luka swallowed.

"It's from the guitar strings, I know," she sighed. "I know you can't help it. I'm sorry, I know I suck at jokes."

"You don't suck at jokes." he told her. "I'm just scared I hurt you."

"You've never hurt me, Luka," Marinette nudged his head with hers. "I don't think you ever could."

"I don't ever want to." Luka whispered, but refrained from adding the list of things he _did_ want to do, like kiss her and hold her and please her.

To love her.

Marinette snuggled against him, pressing as close as she could. Perhaps it was the coziness of the tiny apartment, or perhaps her soft clothes, or the dimmed grey light of the rain outside, or the warmth of Luka's body, or some combination of all of the above, but something was making her feel extra cuddly at present.

She just wanted to be held. Or, that's what it felt like she wanted. She knew she wanted _something_ , but she wasn’t sure exactly what.

Luka hugged her tight, and he almost kissed her. He wanted to, desperately. He wanted to take advantage of the dimmed light and sound of the weather and sleeping third roommate and comfy mood and try, just a little, to romance her like he'd wanted to for years.

Instead, Marinette kissed his cheek and turned back, partly to discourage her strange fresh desire to crawl all over him, and partly because she didn't want to interrupt their Nail Time for long, and it was like a mercy killing for Luka's anxieties.

Luka spent a good few moments willing himself not to get hard while Marinette was in his lap and for the heat in his cheeks to go away, and then gently took her hand once more and brought up a file.

Finger by finger, he shaped her nails into smooth rounded points, and then neatened up his own.

The next step was color, which would take the longest.

Slowly, carefully, he painted one hand's nails black, and then the other, and then switched to blue to do his left hand.

"Now, don't touch anything," Luka warned kindly, setting a timer on his phone. "These are fast-drying but since you want decals we should give them a little more time to settle."

"And what if I _have_ to touch something?" Marinette tested.

"I have one free hand," he wiggled his fingers as proof. "I'll do it."

She pressed against him again, leaning her head back to rest on his shoulder, closed her eyes and sighed happily.

"See?" he nuzzled her. "Feel relaxed yet?"

"Mmm… yeah," she hummed. "Thank you for doing my nails."

"I want you to feel pampered." Luka used his free arm to give her middle a gentle squeeze.

"Well, you're doing a great job," Marinette giggled.

"Good." he whispered. "You deserve it. You deserve a day off."

They sat for a minute, listening to the rain.

"Do you miss the sound of the rain on the boat?" she murmured.

"Maybe a little." Luka replied quietly. "But Juleka and Rose always liked to make out loudly in the rain, and I definitely don't miss that."

Marinette chuckled.

"Like, I'm glad you're having fun, sis, but…" he smiled, enjoying her quiet laughter. "I don't wanna hear exactly how much."

"Youre funny, Luka," she hummed softly at the end of her giggles.

"I aim to entertain." Luka smooched her cheek.

She gave a little gasp and he watched her chest do a little jump.

Her blue eyes opened to blink at him.

"Sor-"

She cut him off with a kiss, just a short one.

Her lip gloss tasted like honey.

When he came back to his senses, she smiled at him and opened her mouth to say something.

Instead, his phone alarm sounded, and he groaned and turned it off.

"You wanted green pawprints, yeah?" he asked, rifling through the decal sheets.

"Yeah," she replied softly, leaning her head against his. "Have you got enough?"

"I should." Luka's smile crept back. "I buy animal ones for Nino's nails all the time."

"What does Nino ask for?" Marinette giggled.

"All sorts," Luka fished out a sheet of decals. "But mostly turtles and giraffes, cause he likes the shapes and colors."

"Aw," she smiled. "Those are wonderful choices."

"Alright, love," he clicked his tongue enthusiastically. "Hand, please."

Marinette offered her right hand first, and Luka took his tweezers and began to place the little green pawprints one-by-one.

He was concentrating so hard that his tongue peeked out and she almost burst into giggles.

"One hand done." he nodded decisively and turned to swap which of her shoulders he was looking over, but got caught in her gaze.

"So you did call me 'love'," she whispered, something like delight in her eyes.

Luka's brain broke in two.

"You called me 'baby' earlier, too, didn't you?" Marinette gave a little smug smile.

Luka opened his mouth, whether to apologize or defend himself, he didn't know. But she silenced him with a finger.

"C'mon, let's finish our nails."

Luka definitely wasn't going to complain about that proposition, so he smiled nervously and got back to work.

===

Adrien woke slowly, thinking after some time to check the window. It was still raining but it was clearly well past sunset.

The scent of nail polish remover poked at his nose and he scowled. Weakly, of course, the smell was only lingering proof of a past presence of the stuff.

Adrien sat up and yawned and wondered why he didn't feel hungry.

"So, Chat Noir nails, huh?" Luka's voice came, gentle.

"Yeah," Marinette's voice replied, a bit breathy.

"You still miss him, huh?" Luka asked quietly.

"Yeah." Marinette whispered. "Is that bad?"

"No," Luka replied. "It's normal. You don't know where he is, and you're worried."

"Yeah." Marinette sighed.

Adrien shuffled as quietly as he could to peek out the door.

Luka and Marinette were lounging on the couch in the dark, Marinette laying in Luka's lap the way Adrien had been the night before.

"Did you ever meet him? Before that night?" she asked, craning her neck back to see him.

"Yeah," Luka nodded a little. "A few times, but I sure didn’t know him the way you did."

"I don’t think anybody does." Marinette said, laying her head on his chest. "Is… is it weird that I'm so close to him?"

"No, love," Luka shook his head. "Sometimes that’s just how things are between two people, regardless of anything."

"Hmm," Marinette hummed contemplatively.

 _'Love'?_ A little voice in Adrien's head questioned. _What's **he** doing calling her 'love'?_

Adrien shook his head quickly. Luka could call Marinette whatever she let him call her.

"I just…" Marinette shrugged. "I guess I just… hope he's alright."

"Me, too." Luka said, and then yawned. "Hey, baby? What's the time?"

Adrien's eye twitched when he heard the name 'baby', but he didn't want to think about why.

"It's ten-thirty," Marinette shifted to see him. "And I see someone's getting braver with his pet names."

"I can stop," Luka whispered timidly.

 _Please do_ , the little voice in Adrien's head growled. He tried to ignore it.

"Please don't," Marinette smiled and touched Luka's face. "They're sweet, I like them!"

Luka opened his mouth to say something else, but Marinette's phone rang.

They looked at the number, and then one another in discomfort.

"It's Cynthia." Marinette went to pick up, but Luka covered the phone screen with his hand.

"The Overnighter?" Luka looked horrified. "Hell no, Marinette. Not tonight."

"Luka, c'mon, it's Cynthia." she sat up and turned to face him, phone still vibrating in her hands. "I need the money… and the experience…"

"No, what you _need_ is sleep." Luka protested, leaning forward to cover the phone again. "C'mon, you were _this_ close to being completely wound down."

"You can't stop me, Luka," Marinette scolded gently, folding her arms.

"I can sure as hell try," Luka reached out and pulled her close. "Drop the phone or I'll sing."

Marinette seemed to light up at this offer.

"I'll answer it just to make that happen," she dared.

"Put the phone down." Luka told her. "You can't do this to yourself, and I can't _let_ you do this to yourself."

"You say that like it'll kill me," Marinette shook her head. "It's just a Cynthia Commission."

"At eleven pm?" Luka raised his eyebrows. "You know she'll want it by five and you won't get any sleep. I'm not letting you answer that call, love."

Marinette looked to the phone and back to Luka.

Wordlessly, but with an apologetic look on her face, she backed out of reach and raised the phone towards her ear.

Luka's response was to start singing.

" _Slow down, you crazy child._ " he sang, a convicting look on his face. " _You're so ambitious for a juvenile._ "

Marinette froze and went wide-eyed and the phone slipped out of her hand.

" _But then if you're so smart, tell me why are you still so afraid?_ " Luka rolled his head back and sighed the last lyric or two.

He would sing the whole thing for her, because he knew she would listen if he sang what he wanted to say, but it still felt kind of silly with no music to accompany.

" _Where's the fire? What's the hurry about? You'd bet-ter cool it off before you burn it out_ ," Luka looked back to Marinette, who was listening attentively now. " _You got so much to do and only so many hours in a day…_ "

She crawled closer and he reached for her arms, just to touch her.

" _But you know that when the truth is told,_ " he shrugged with the mood of the song. " _That you can get what you want, or you can just get old. You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through._ "

The look in Marinette's eyes was making Adrien's stomach churn.

" _Why don't you realize?_ " Luka shook his head lightly. " _Vienna waits for you._ "

Marinette cocked her head to one side and smiled softly.

" _Slow down, you're doing fine. You can't be everything you wanna be before your time_ ," he went on, making little movements and gestures with the words. " _Although it's **so** romantic on the borderline, tonight, tonight…_ "

" _Too bad but it's the life you lead, you're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need._ " Luka put his hands to Marinette's face. " _Though you can see when you're wrong, you know you can't always see when you're right, you're right…_ "

She closed her eyes and Adrien could feel anger bubbling from the back of his mind. Part of him begged it to stay there.

" _You've got your passion, you've got your pride,_ " Luka kept singing, and Adrien wanted to hate it, but he couldn't bring himself to. " _But don’t you know that only fools are satisfied?_ "

Luka seemed to pause and take a breath.

" _Dream on,_ " he sang these words a little softer, with his eyes closed. " _But don't imagine they'll all come true._ "

Adrien was hit hard by the slight tone shift, so much so that he seemed to flinch.

" _Why don't you realize?_ " Luka shook his head again. " _Vienna waits for you._ "

Luka hummed a few notes, and in the room, Adrien began to fight with himself. Half of him wanted to enjoy the song, and Luka's smooth, deep voice, and the gentle lyrics and the message of care it was sending, but the other half was angry.

It was angry and jealous.

That should have been _him_ with Marinette in his lap. That should have been _him_ serenading her and holding her and having her swoon for his efforts.

Marinette's phone rang again and she looked back to it and reached for it.

" _Slow down you crazy child,_ " Luka reached out and gently grabbed her wrist, putting his hand over the phone screen and pushing it away, and began to sing again, this time with a little more desperation. " _Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while._ "

She lowered the phone.

" _It's alright,_ " he took her hands in his, almost begging through the song. " _You can afford to lose a day or two._ "

He kissed them.

" _When will you realize, love?_ " Luka sang at barely a breath. " _Vienna waits for you._ "

Marinette hugged him and Adrien gritted his teeth and lay back down and rolled toward the wall.

"C'mon," Luka whispered. "Let's just go to bed."

"Mine or yours?" Marinette replied in smug whisper.

Luka made a stunned little squeak in the back of his throat and Marinette burst into giggles again.

"Sorry," she snuggled him. "I couldn't resist."

"I m-mean," he swallowed and stuttered. "I want you to c-come back to mine. With me. And-and Adrien, Adrien too, not just me! It's nice. It's warm and I love having you close. I-"

Marinette kissed him to cut him off. She kissed him firmly and deeply and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged back, pulling her closer.

When she broke he gasped for air, red in the face, and realised her surprised expression was probably due to the slight bulge in his jeans she was sitting on top of.

"Sorry," he groaned. "You can go to bed, I'll just die of shame out here on the couch."

Marinette climbed out of his lap and pulled him up by both hands, leading him to the bedroom.

She crawled onto the bed and over to check on Adrien.

Adrien was miserable and hurt and angry, and he didn’t want to face either of them until he could get his emotions in check, so he was pretending to be asleep, and when Marinette kissed his cheek and whispered a loving goodnight, he almost cried.

Luka and Marinette settled down, and all three of them fell asleep swiftly.

It was not a restful night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hm. this is what. the second or third cliffhanger ive left on? hm.
> 
> hhhhhhhhhhhh no update next week gotta finish drabbles but maybe!! week after!!!
> 
> also thank u for all ur comments they are keeping me strong i lov u all!!
> 
> enjoy and see you soon !!!


	19. Chapter 19

Adrien woke first, feeling tense and unrested and awful. He put his hands to his face.

He looked over at his bedmates. Marinette was snuggled against Luka, and they were smiling peacefully.

His anger and jealousy quickly morphed into guilt and shame.

Why did he feel so upset? He shouldn't be upset!

This was _Marinette_ , the greatest girl in the world next to his Lady and the girl who cared for him like no other, and _Luka_ , his best friend beside Nino and the one man who knew all his secrets.

 _Why_ was he mad at them? He loved them! He shouldn't be mad at the people he cared about!

Marinette hummed and stretched a little in her sleep, unconsciously shuffling towards him, and Adrien reached out and closed his arms around her.

He just wanted to hold her.

Marinette yawned.

"Mmm," she rubbed her eyes. "Who's got me?"

She looked over her shoulder and Adrien smiled nervously.

"Mmmorning, Adrien," Marinette lifted her hand up to stroke his cheek with the back of her fingers. "Feeling okay?"

"Yeah," he lied. "How'd you sleep, Mari?"

"Mmm, really well," she replied, and after a silent moment, rolled over in his arms, a satisfied expression on her face.

"Good," Adrien smiled, and he meant it.

Marinette hummed and cuddled into him. Adrien's cheeks went warm and he hugged tighter.

"I had the most wonderful dream," she sighed, tapping her fingers lightly against his collarbone. "We passed all our midterms and Nino threw a party for us."

"Oh, Nino parties are the _best_ ," Adrien let his eyes close, feeling like he used to as Chat Noir on mornings when he didn't want to leave her.

"And Alya was there, and Chloe," Marinette sighed sleepily. "And Mylene and Ivan and their son, and Alix… everyone who left."

"Mylene and Ivan have a son now?" he mused.

"Maybe," she shrugged. "I know Mylene wanted kids, so…"

Adrien conceded that.

"But you'll never guess who else was there," Marinette yawned again.

"Hmm." Adrien began to drift to sleep. "Who?"

"Chat Noir." she replied, nuzzling into his chest. "Crazy, right? No Ladybug, no Tigereye, no Carapace, nobody else, just Chat."

Adrien snapped awake.

Marinette… dreamt about him?

"It was strange too," Marinette mumbled. "He was the only one I wanted to talk to, but he kept moving away…"

Adrien rubbed her back gently.

"I just wanted to kiss him." she said as though trying to convince someone, on the cusp of sleep. "Just wanted to kiss him and take him home and kiss him more…"

And then she was snoozing.

Adrien gave the tiniest of sighs and nuzzled her forehead.

"I wanna kiss you, too, princess," he whispered to her raven hair. "I wanna go home with you and kiss you a lot. I'm sorry I can't."

Luka took in a deep breath on the other side of the bed, and in reflex, Adrien managed to roll onto his back and pull Marinette onto his chest, which woke her up again.

She yawned again and shifted, moving against his entire body, and Adrien prayed he didn't get a boner.

"Oh, I must have fallen asleep again," Marinette's brow furrowed. "Sorry, Adrien."

"What's there to apologize for?" Adrien smiled up at her.

"Yeah," came Luka's voice, drawing both their gazes to him. "You're allowed to sleep in, Marinette."

"Actually," Marinette sat up a little, moving the pressure her body was delivering to Adrien's to a more localised and altogether more dangerous area. "I have things I have to do every day, Mr. Contract Casual."

"C'mon," Luka rolled toward them a little, speaking in a gravelly wake-up voice that had tingles travelling down Adrien's spine. "You're _supposed_ to be on break. You can spend a day in bed with us."

"I'm sure you'd love that, wouldn't you," she poked her tongue out. "But I got plenty of rest and relaxation yesterday, and now it's time to get back in the saddle."

 _Please ride me,_ Adrien swallowed, the words the only coherent thought as his mind was on the verge of complete and total meltdown.

"Whose saddle?" Luka asked smugly.

Marinette went pink and shuffled again. Adrien began to sweat, and not from the increasingly warm summer morning weather.

"Too far," Luka conceded. "Sorry, love."

"I-it's okay," Marinette cleared her throat and gave a hesitant smile.

The tentative mood was all but cataclysmically destroyed with a rumbling from Adrien's stomach.

Adrien wanted to die, hyperaware of his roommate's amused gazes on his rapidly reddening face, but at least the shame killed his boner.

Luka pursed his lips to stifle the laughter.

"Someone didn't eat yesterday," Marinette said in a gentle voice, tapping Adrien's nose. "A big breakfast is in order."

"Would you like help preparing said breakfast?" Luka offered, a hunger in his eyes that wasn't just for eggs and toast.

"Yes, please," Marinette leant down and gave Adrien the softest of smooches, the tips of her hair falling from her shoulders and brushing his skin, and then got down off his hips.

Adrien almost returned to his previous touch-craving state, but as Marinette climbed over Luka's lap to make it off the bed, she kissed him, too, and Adrien's gut wrenched.

She trotted out to the rest of the apartment.

Luka sat up completely, yawned and stretched, and turned to Adrien.

"Morning, sunshine." he whispered with that unfairly gentle smile.

"Morning." Adrien replied curtly.

Luka's face dropped into one of surprise and even the slightest hint of hurt, and Adrien's heart dropped with it.

Slowly, silently, hesitantly, Luka exited the room.

And Adrien felt even worse.

===

Breakfast was eaten in heavy silence.

Luka was apprehensive, Adrien was stewing, and Marinette couldn't figure out why neither were talking.

Weren't… weren't they friends? They'd been so close until this morning…

Yesterday, they'd helped her come down from a panic attack together, and the days before, they'd been talking, joking, laughing with one another, touching, hugging even.

Luka had talked about _kissing_ Adrien!

She didn't understand, and the more she thought about it, the more it began to really scare her.

What if they began to hate each other?

What if Luka asked Adrien to leave and she had to take Adrien back to the bakery all by herself? What if Adrien got mad when she wanted to see Luka and made her stay away from him?

What if they made her choose between them?

Could she really do that?

Marinette hadn't been able to choose between them for five years, what if she still couldn’t now?

If it was truly going downhill like this, it would be a question of who she could live without, and if the answer was neither, she might lose both of them anyway.

She began to breathe heavier, but that would give her away, and the prospect of talking about this was too scary right now.

She needed to clear her head.

As soon as Marinette finished her toast, she said she was going to the bakery, and went for a walk.

===

Adrien hadn't realized how long he'd been mulling silently on the couch after Marinette left until Luka said something.

"Adrien." Luka beckoned, offering him a glass of soda.

"What?" Adrien immediately snapped to attention.

"It's getting pretty warm out," Luka said, as if repeating something. "Have some soda. Cool down a bit."

Adrien nodded and took the drink, genuinely grateful but forcing the smile.

Luka sat beside him on the couch and picked up his guitar. Some audio static sounded as he plugged it into the amp and began to tune.

Adrien sipped at his drink and thought for a moment.

He didn't _want_ to be angry at Luka, honest, he didn't.

He _couldn't_ be, he _depended_ on Luka, they had to work _together_.

Luka was his _friend_! He shouldn't be mad at his friend!

_You should **never** be mad at someone you care about._

Adrien outwardly scowled into the slowly emptying soda cup.

He had to get over it. He had to get over it fast.

He _wanted_ to get over it. Adrien was, in all honesty, getting pretty sick and tired of feeling like shit. The last week had been so _good_ , so easy and fun and nice, with Marinette _and_ with Luka. Adrien wanted that back.

He wanted to be happy again - happy _with_ Luka again.

He just… didn't know how.

"Hey, Adrien?" Luka beckoned. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Hmm?" Adrien answered into the glass, train of thought hitting some rocky ground.

"You were a little weird this morning," Luka swallowed. "I just… wanted to know if there's anything wrong"

"I'm just, like…" Adrien frowned. "I'm just a little confused and frustrated right now."

"Feel like talkin' about it?" Luka looked at him non-invasively.

"Naw, it-it's fine," Adrien smiled awkwardly. "I'll just bottle it up, probably, y'know?"

"Now, that's no good, sunshine," Luka shook his head and tisked. "Ya gotta get it out. Express it somehow."

"Well, what do you do to get stuff out?" Adrien drained the cup of the soda.

"Play music," Luka strummed demonstratively. "Want me to grab your keyboard?"

"Yeah," Adrien nodded, considering. "That might be good, actually."

"Gimme a sec." Luka handed him the guitar. 

Adrien watched with curiosity as Luka lifted the huge case with the keyboard down from the corner as if it wasn't as heavy as Adrien's entire body, and open it. He found himself staring at Luka's upper arms as he set up the instrument before him, unsure as to why.

His mood threatened to drop again as he was reminded of the uselessness of his stupid broken leg.

"Can you reach okay?" Luka asked, tightening the screws on the legs of the stand so they wouldn't fall.

"Yeah, this is good." Adrien pressed a few keys and the familiar feel of the black-and-white bars under his fingertips made him take in a calming breath. "Thank you, Luka."

"No problem." Luka adjusted the board a little, turned it on and resumed his position on the couch.

"So," Adrien mused. "I just play anything?"

"It's best if it's a song that addresses the things you're feeling," Luka went back to tuning. "But if you just wanna hear something depressing or, like, yell about shit, that's valid, too."

Adrien thought for a while. He knew the right kind of song to play, but couldn't remember its name. He decided he needed a little help.

(psst}

(nino}

**{whats up bro)**

(whats the name of that killers song}

(not somebody told me. the other one that was super famous}

(were trying to have a 'feelings jam' or whatever}

(but i cant really think straight rn}

Adrien watched the 'typing' bubble show for a few seconds, and then smiled at the result.

(thanks dude :D}

**{np my man (; )**

Adrien pressed a few keys, trying to emulate the iconic riff, but it just didn't sound right. Finally, he got the notes correct, but it was barely having the effect he needed it to have.

Suddenly, the riff he'd been attempting to do justice to with a goddamn keyboard, in all its electric-guitar-played glory, sounded from the instrument beside him. Luka had a contemplative smirk on his face as he watched him.

Glancing between the keyboard and his bandmate, Adrien pressed down on the first bass chord of the song, and, at Luka's continuing notes, began to play it with full enthusiasm.

When the time came for the words to join the layers of music, Adrien's voice rang clear.

" _Comin' out of my cage and I been doin' just fine_ ," he sang, focusing mostly on the progression of chords he was supposed to be playing. " _Gotta, gotta be down, because I want it all_."

Luka was smiling brightly at him, and Adrien had no clue why, but he joined him in grinning anyway.

" _It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this_?  
_It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss_!"

From outside the door, Marinette heard the unmistakeable sounds of a muffled 90's rock song and slowly peeked in so as not to interrupt.

She found her boys jamming excitedly on the couch, Adrien practically yelling the words to _Mr. Brightside_ , and Luka grinning as he alternated his gaze between his roommate and his fingers on the guitar.

" _Now they're going to bed, and my stomach is sick_ ," Adrien began to head-bang, somehow still sounding fantastic to Marinette despite the fact that he was almost screaming.

" _…He takes off her dress now_ ,  
_Let me go_!"

In the brief moment before the chorus begun, Marinette dropped the few shopping bags she'd picked up at the corner store on the counter and watched as Luka prepared to join the enthusiastic head movements.

" _JEALOUSY! Turning saints into the sea_!" Adrien belted, making both boys head's bob with the derivative beat.

" _Swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibies_ ,  
_But it's just the price I pay, destiny is calling me_!  
_Open up my eager eyes, cause I'm Mr Brightside_!"

Luka played the following notes of the instrumental, and as Adrien caught his breath he produced a sufficient sounding replica of the synth of the original track with every repositioning of his fingers atop the keyboard.

" _Comin out of my cage, I been doing just fine_!" Adrien sang, almost laughing between lines, and sweating from the summer heat and the effort of yelling. " _Gotta, gotta be down, because I want it all_!"

Marinette found herself wanting to move just as much as the boys, their energy absolutely infectious, and ripped out the elastics holding her buns up to get the full head-banging experience.

" _It was only a kiss_!" Adrien cried, looking elated.

" _It was only a kiss_!" Luka joined in, pleasantly stunning Marinette.

She watched them in awed glee, filled with joy that the tension between them seemed to be gone, and as the sounds of their voices and their instruments in tandem filled the apartment with their song.

" _And it's all in my head, but she's touching his-_  
_Chest now, he takes off her dress now, let me go_!  
_Oh, I just can't look, it's killing me_!  
_It's taking control_!  
_Jealousy, turning saints into the sea_!"

Marinette grinned sillily and bounced around a bit in the kitchen, throwing her hair every which way. Luka struck a single off note and huffed and checked his fingers were in the right positions as he played.

Adrien was still belting lyrics and banging chords out, releasing all of his pent up energy. Marinette couldn't help but start to sing along, and Luka seemed to feel the same way.

" _BUT IT'S JUST THE PRICE I PAY_  
_DESTINY IS CALLING ME_!  
_OPEN UP MY EAGER EYES_!  
_I'M MISTER BRIGHT SIDE_!" their voices melded together in the air.

" _I never_!" Adrien yelled.

" _I never_!" Luka echoed.

" _I NEVER_!" Marinette carried the third and longest note.

" ** _I NEVER_**!!!" joined the boys after their moment of surprise.

And with the final chord of the guitar, the boys did a congratulatory fist-bump, sans the regular 'bien-joue' announcement to keep their subtlety.

"Welcome home!" Luka panted at the approaching Marinette, and Adrien began to laugh breathlessly.

"What a welcome!" Marinette dropped between them, hugging both over their broad shoulders. "That was awesome!"

"That was super fun," Adrien wiped his face with the neck of his shirt, breathing heavy. "God, made me hot though."

"You were hot before that," Marinette said, and at both her boys incriminating smiles she immediately stuttered a redaction. "I mean, it was hot before that! It's summer, right? It's really hot, we're all really hot!"

"Can't argue with that," Luka winked at her.

"OKAY," Marinette said at a volume that was perfectly reasonable. "What did you want for dinner?"

Luka motioned at his forehead to Adrien while Marinette wasn't looking at him. Adrien realised that his bangs had fallen into their Chat style, as that was their natural state, since his 'regular' hair was actually a look he cultivated with the use of a comb. He messily brushed them up in the hopes they'd look something like neat again.

Luka smiled and winked and gave him a thumbs up.

"What about spaghetti?" Marinette asked, getting up to start cooking.

"Sounds good," Adrien panted.

"Yeah, you did." Luka said off-handedly, getting up to disassemble the various musical equipment strewn across the tiny loungeroom.

It seemed Marinette hadn't heard the quiet comment, and Adrien was left to watch their hot blue-haired roommate effortlessly lifting heavy equipment in stunned silence from his spot on the couch.

===

"Luka?" Adrien asked as he sat him on the bed that night.

"Yeah?" Luka replied, stretching.

"I'm sorry I was grumpy this morning." Adrien scooted backwards to his side of the bed. "I shouldn't have been angry at you."

"That's okay, sunshine," Luka sat down, kicked off his jeans and swivelled to face him. "As long as you're feeling better now."

"No, I mean it," Adrien touched Luka's arm, and though the movement felt natural, Adrien was sure he'd never done it before. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Luka gave Adrien a big hug and nuzzled him.

Adrien's heart raced at the contact and a nervous smile grew on his face.

"You're forgiven." Luka whispered, resisting the urge to kiss his blond bedmate all over his handsome face.

The fact that he was apologizing only made Luka's confusion and fear dissipate completely. If Adrien was apologizing, it meant he was okay, and Luka couldn't be more relieved.

They held each other tight as they lay down to sleep.

Both had come far too close to losing the other today for either's liking, and now they absolutely didn't want to let go.

===

A loud noise woke Luka.

It was his phone, and on the screen read 2:16 AM, and the words 'Akuma Alert'.

" _SHIT!_ " Luka hissed, immediately jolting up.

He clambered carefully over his sleeping partner and made for the window, reaching the sill before he remembered he wasn't indestructible yet and really shouldn't try to jump out the window before he transformed.

Adrien, woken by the movements, came to in time to notice Luka readying to leave and panicked.

"Wait!" Adrien reached out for him. "Where are you going? Don’t go…"

Luka turned, surprised, and stopped.

Adrien looked so… scared, eyes wide and hand outstretched in held-back desperation.

"There's an akuma," Luka whispered.

"Oh," Adrien seemed to retreat at the revelation, shrinking back like a homeless kitten shying from strangers in the box on the street it was left in. "You'd… you'd better hurry, then, night-time akumas are the worst..."

Adrien looked away and Luka remembered what Marinette had said the day before.

And what he himself had said in reply.

"Hey," Luka shifted from the window and came closer, gently holding Adrien's face in his hands. "I'll be home soon, okay, kitten?"

Adrien's big green eyes, glowing, perhaps by some trick of the moonlight from the window, trained on Luka in surprise.

"I'll be back," Luka repeated. "I promise, okay?"

And then he leant over and kissed Adrien's cheek.

Adrien went red.

Luka smiled and hummed and nuzzled him and then let go of Adrien's face and turned for the window.

" _Transforme moi_ ," Luka whispered, and disappeared.

Adrien, frozen from the unexpected nickname and definitely unexpected kiss, eventually began to blink again. His cheeks felt like they were on fire, and all he could think to do was hug a pillow.

===

When Tigereye returned, more tired than he'd been in some time, he almost fell out of the window while trying to get back into the room.

Adrien was hugging his pillow, sound asleep, and Luka thought it better not to wake him.

He detransformed and crawled around his sleeping roommate and tried to squeeze into his half of the bed.

"You came back…" came a sleepy whisper from Adrien's lips.

Luka melted.

He began to suspect that Adrien was going to be the death of him one day.

"Yes, kitten, I came back." Luka nuzzled his cheek. "I really can't leave you for long."

Adrien's happy hum and slow-spreading smile were enough to stop Luka's heart on the spot.

Luka kissed Adrien's cheek again and curled around him, swiftly falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helo this is a lil early cause i felt Bad leaving you all with the cliffhanger last week :p
> 
> sory its shorter than normal 
> 
> i love these boys
> 
> see u soon!!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twenty chapters god damn
> 
> a warning: this chapter contains a bully saying some nasty things, including some homophobic slurs. as usual, take a breath or skip this chapter. be safe and enjoy!

"Boys," a soft voice beckoned.

"Mm?" Adrien stirred.

He moved, perhaps thinking to sit up, but Luka was on one of his arms. Luka let out a little grumble.

"Morning." Marinette whispered, the smile evident in the sound of her voice.

"Morning, gorgeous…" Luka mumbled.

"I'm going for a run, okay?" Marinette kissed both their cheeks. "I forgot to yesterday. See you in a little bit."

"Mmm, be safe," Luka replied, smiling weakly.

"Come back soon…" Adrien added, muffled as he nuzzled into the back of Luka's neck.

Marinette smiled big and giggled softly. She couldn't resist giving them another gentle smooch each.

After she was out the door, Adrien's nose began to tickle from Luka's hair and he gave the smallest of sneezes.

"Bless you, kitten." Luka shifted.

"Thank you…" Adrien mumbled. "Hey, Luka… speaking of things we forgot yesterday… what happened to patrol?"

"I forgot," Luka sniffed and rolled over. "And then when the… fuckin'…"

He yawned.

"Akuma," he continued, pushing his head under Adrien's chin. "Ladybug was like 'yeah, I forgot too, don't sweat it,' and we decided to just do it tonight…"

"Mmm, alright." Adrien hummed, yawning.

Neither made a move to get up for a while.

===

Marinette sat atop the roof of Luka's building for a minute upon her return, taking a breath of fresh air in the summer sun as she removed some of her running gear.

She chewed her lip, a concentrating frown on her face.

Her parents returned in two days. This would mean work started again, and they'd want her to move back home.

But… she really couldn't leave Adrien and Luka to themselves yet.

Luka was still nervous about shopping, and Adrien was far from alright with his leg situation.

And after yesterday, she wanted to be support in case they had another… whatever the hell that'd been.

Marinette gave a huff and laid back on the concrete roof.

Maybe she could leave them for a couple of days, come back… patrol nights, or something, and check on them, and live in both places at once?

But then, she could be in the wrong house at the wrong time. She might leave important things in the wrong rooms. If she slept in the boy's bed on the wrong night, she might be late for work, and she didn't want to do that to her parents.

And living in both places was so different! What if she forgot she couldn't walk around in nothing but a towel here? What if she forgot she couldn't… have Alone Time… in the apartment, since she was two floors above her parents, but only a hall away from the boys?

What if she tried to go shopping for her parents, how stupid would that be?

Marinette pouted. It had been a little while since they'd last gone shopping, actually. A whole week, in fact.

Maybe Luka would be a little bit better now?

"Well," she sat up and made her way to the fire escape. "Only one way to find out."

===

"Does it matter what brand we get?" Marinette frowned at a jar of instant coffee.

"I… don’t know?" Luka replied uncertainly.

"Alright, we'll try this one and see how we go, then." she smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "You're doing great."

He hummed happily and followed her into the next aisle.

"Pasta…" Marinette tutted, and then turned to him. "Pasta?"

"Pasta." he nodded. "I like the ones that look like shells."

"Conchiglie, conchiglie," She peered at the packets on the shelves, searching. "Ah."

She tugged a chunky looking bag into the cart and went looking for sauce.

"I'm gonna have to bring over a bunch of my mama's spices." Marinette shook her head in subtle exasperation. "Bland-ass pasta sauce..."

Luka smiled at her scrutinization of a couple of different cans. Eventually she shrugged and dropped one into the pile in the cart.

"Uh, aisle over is…" Marinette mused, rounding the corner. "Health. Hmm. We might need more antisepti-"

"CHICKEN LEGS?" came an enthusiastic cry from several feet away.

Luka's stomach suddenly sank to the seventh circle of hell.

"Billy." he whispered in fear.

"Billy?" Marinette turned to him, concerned. "You don't mean-"

"Oh. My. God. Dip-dye, is that really you?" the voice got closer.

"It's regrowth," Marinette and Luka muttered in unison.

"Holy shit, it's Couffaine!" came the jovial voice, and they turned.

A man their age with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, a little taller than Luka and much wider, with a five o'clock shadow and tacky clothes. He approached and grinned unnervingly at Luka.

"Never thought I'd see you again, fishbone!" the man punched Luka's arm with slightly more force than could be counted as playful.

"Me neither," Luka shrunk, visibly uncomfortable, and rubbed his arm.

"Didn't think you'd make it past eighteen!" Billy goaded.

"Me neither…" Luka repeated, very, very quietly.

Marinette squeezed his hand in an attempt to comfort and reassure.

"Oh, is this your missus?" Billy lit up. "She's a cutie, what's her name?"

"Marinette." Marinette swallowed her anger.

"Oh, she's lovely." the man preened, and then peered at her a moment. "Wait a minute, aren't you the girl who punched the akuma last week?"

"Y-yep, that's - that's me." Marinette grimaced and hoped it would pass as a grin.

" _Nice catch, Couffaine,_!" Billy elbowed him aggressively. "Didn't even think you knew how to fish!"

Luka was now squarely in the zone of pained. A miserable flush began to color his cheeks.

Marinette wanted to hug him or even just get him out, but she'd have to find a way fast. Drawing on her Ladybug instincts, she began to look around the store.

"Hell, with a hippie bargie for a mom and your dykey little sister, I thought you might even end up gay!" Billy laughed.

Luka looked like he might cry and Marinette was absolutely fed up. Finally, as she looked up at the aisle sign again, she got an idea.

"Hey, honey?" Marinette said loudly. "I think we can skip this aisle. I don't feel like using condoms this week."

Luka blinked, going from scared turtle to stunned deer in a fraction of a second.

Marinette waved at a dumbstruck Billy and pulled Luka into the next aisle, turning to him with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

"Quick, tell me you love me," she whispered.

"I love you," Luka said instantly.

"No, louder," Marinette nodded in the direction of where they'd left the rude man. "And put a silly nickname at the end."

"Oh! Oh," he realised, and then raised his voice so it would carry. "I love you, sugarbuns."

"I love you, rockstar," she swooned almost dramatically, and then listened.

"Yeesh," came a disgruntled mutter.

Marinette put her hand over her mouth to stifle the laugh and Luka snorted. They hurried down the aisle, hand in hand, and burst into giggle fits at the other end.

"I'm sorry," Marinette hugged Luka after their laughter died. "I know that was awful."

"It's… it's alright," Luka sighed. "But thank you. You saved my ass."

"I'm used to saving people's asses." she waved a hand and rolled her eyes. "But… are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Luka nodded and kissed her forehead. "Just fine."

Marinette smiled and her cheeks went a little pink, and then she put them back on track with the shop.

"So, can we talk about 'sugarbuns'?" she smirked at him as they passed the bakery.

"P-please, no," Luka went red.

"It's cute," Marinette considered a cheese scroll. "I liked it."

"You… did?" he swallowed.

"I mean, use it sparingly, but…" she dropped it in the cart and looked up to him, something akin to smugness on her face. "I think I could survive hearing you say it again."

Luka only made some kind of incoherent stuttering noise in reply, but Marinette smiled and gave his hand a squeeze anyway.

"C'mon, rockstar." she sighed happily. "Let's go get Adrien some cookies."

===

"I'm going for my run." Marinette put her plate in the sink.

"Thought you went this morning?" Adrien said with a mouthful of casserole.

"I can't go on two?" Marinette teased.

"No, baby, we're just wondering why you'd go twice in a day," Luka stood to put his plate in, too.

"I actually don't know," Marinette admitted, shrugging nervously. "I think maybe I have a lot of pent up energy?"

"Well, as long as you're feeling alright," Adrien nodded.

"I'm great," she replied, and it was only partly a lie.

Marinette couldn't explain how she was feeling currently. She _thought_ it was a good feeling, at least, but there was something that felt off about it.

It was almost like a mixture of nervousness and warmth. It felt like… like a flip that she didn't quite pull off, or having to finish one swimming lap short of her routine, or a hug that wasn't tight enough.

Marinette seemed to want a lot of hugs recently. And kisses, apparently. She'd never imagined she'd be brave enough to kiss Luka _or_ Adrien like she did now, but in the moments, it was as if kissing them was the only thing she wanted to do with her life.

And she couldn't sit still, even moreso than usual. All her superhero duties and everything that came with them kept her on her feet, sure, but this was ridiculous. She wanted to go skating with Luka, even though they only did that on Thursday. She wanted to go running down the street. She wanted to jump around and swim a hundred laps and-

"Mari?" Adrien beckoned.

"What?" she blinked.

Adrien smiled like he did when she had missed something in class.

"How long are you gonna be on your run, love?" Luka asked from beside her.

"Hmm." Marinette considered. "I… might get back early tonight. Probably midnight."

"We'll be asleep by then." Adrien informed.

" _You_ definitely will, kitten." Luka ruffled his hair affectionately. "But I have to go for a walk, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Adrien smiled, but Marinette knew it was hiding an internal pout.

"I'll come say goodnight if Luka's not back when I am," Marinette promised. "But for now…"

She kissed their cheeks and went to go change.

"You boys play nice, okay?"

"Yes, babe," Luka waved. "Have fun."

===

The night air was still warm, 

Tigereye landed without sound, but Ladybug didn't notice.

There was someone else with her.

Luka dropped to a squat in case it was danger.

"The Guardian isn't happy." the green-clad figure told her, arms crossed.

"I realize," Ladybug sighed. "I'm sorry, we didnt think..."

She paused a moment.

" _ **I**_ didn't think that it was a big enough deal." Ladybug admitted. "I see now that I was wrong."

"This is tricky shit, Ladybug." the green man shook his head. "Chat made the decision, but now we have to deal with the rest."

Ladybug nodded.

"As a _team_." green guy leant in emphatically.

Ladybug giggled, which threw Luka for a loop. Ladybug usually didn't _giggle_.

"I know you like to take everything on yourself," the man put his hands on her shoulders in an incredibly tender and intimate fashion. "But you need to trust us to have your back, Ladydude."

"C-Carapace," she whispered in happy exasperation. "Tigereye will be here any second."

"Yes, right, that's my cue to go," Carapace leant forward and kissed her forehead. "You know where to find us."

"I sure do." She grinned and squeezed his hands with hers. "Stay safe, Captain Turtle."

"You bet, dudette," Carapace turned away and disappeared.

For the third time in recent days, Luka realized he'd been staring.

That… that was Nino.

Luka knew those back muscles, those calves, those hands, that hair.

Those eyes.

Luka had so many questions. Why did Nino have a miraculous? Where did he get it? Why was he so familiar with Ladybug? How many miraculouses were there? Who was this Guardian they kept talking about?

Why hadn't Nino just told him?

It would have been so simple to say: 'I know because I have one, too,', and Luka would have understood and let it be.

But Nino had insisted on… on being cagey and secretive and confusing, and that hurt more than Luka wanted to admit.

Luka frowned and stood up, not bothering to hide his footsteps.

"Oh, evening, Tigereye!" Ladybug turned to him, bright as ever.

"Hey," he nodded in greeting. "How's things?"

"Yeah, good." she beamed. "Shall we get started?"

"Yeah," Luka shook his head of his lingering negative thoughts.

He'd meditate them out later.

"We take a different route on weekends." Ladybug looked around. "Weekdays take us through business and public areas, but weekends mean we have to look out more for civilians in trouble."

"Like at bars and stuff?" Tigereye guessed.

"Precisely." she smiled. "Muggings, car accidents, parties going wrong, people who've maybe had a little too much to drink. They all need our help as much as akuma victims."

Tigereye nodded. He'd heard tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir breaking up bar fights on Saturday nights from the other regulars at his club. 

"It's Sunday, so there won't be any barfights." Ladybug mused. "But we've still gotta watch for accidents and other concerning things, so keep an eye out."

"Yes, ma'am." Tigereye took a deep breath.

Ladybug stepped to the edge of the building and readied herself to jump.

"And, Tigereye?" she turned to look at him.

"Mm?" he perked.

"You're doing great, okay?" she smiled and leapt.

Luka's heart made an extra thump before he followed.

===

Marinette peeked her head into the room, and the door squeaked, making Adrien look up from his phone.

"Luka?" he asked, and then his face opened up in surprise. "Oh, Mari!"

"Hey." she smiled. "Mind if I come in?"

"Please," Adrien put his phone down.

Marinette stepped over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sorry, I'm all sweaty," she shrugged nervously. "It's getting really hot out there."

"It’s toasty in here, too," he replied. "I think I'll have to start sleeping shirtless. Luka's apartment doesn't exactly have air conditioning."

"Time to start taking cold showers." Marinette giggled and pulled her buns out.

"Yes," Adrien nodded emphatically. "Or, uh, baths, as it were."

"Too bad we can't go to the pool with your leg." she pouted at it. "It'd be a great way to cool off."

"That reminds me, I have to buy a new swimsuit." he clicked his tongue. "And new winter clothes."

"I can make you some stuff if you don't wanna buy it," Marinette offered. "It'll be sized properly, too."

"I still don't know how you manage to get my measurements so perfect." Adrien mused. "You're a genius, Marinette."

"Well, I mean, I'm good at making clothes, but…" she shook her head. "I can't exactly do trigonometry or anything."

"I can do all the trigonometry you need, Mari," he smiled smugly.

"Dork," Marinette poked him playfully, thinking about how Chat had once said the same thing.

"Only for you," Adrien fluttered his eyelashes, completely unsure as to how much of the line was only teasing.

"C'mere," Marinette giggled and held her arms up in offer of a hug and he smiled and leant over and embraced her.

It took a fair amount of strength not to nuzzle and smooch at her neck or bury his face in her cleavage or even just pull her closer to hold all of her petite frame in his arms.

"Hey," she whispered into his hair. "I have to go take a shower now, but…"

He shifted his face to look up at her.

"I wanted to say that you're doing really well, okay?" Marinette told him, scritching his scalp gently. "A lot of people wouldn't handle losing their leg as well as you have, but you've been really strong."

Adrien's heart began to race and a blush warmed his cheeks.

"I know it's been hard, but I'm really proud of you, Adrien." she smiled gently. "You've done really well."

Adrien's eyes squinted and he nuzzled into her shoulder, no longer able to resist the urge but attempting to be polite nonetheless. He did, however, supress the desire to purr loudly.

Marinette hummed happily and kissed his forehead. Adrien was flooded with affection by just that, but then she kissed his cheek too and he began to cease functioning.

He pulled back and looked at her with wide eyes, heart thudding and skin tingling where she was touching him, internally begging for more.

The look in her eyes was gentle and warm and it was everything he loved about her and he wanted to pull her closer and hold her and kiss her and never let go.

She smooched his lips, too briefly, but it was enough to leave him breathless and craving more.

"Goodnight, Adrien." Marinette whispered and tugged away. "Sweet dreams."

_Don’t go, come back, hold me, love me,_ Adrien's thoughts pleaded.

"See you in the morning." she smiled from the door.

Adrien just flopped back and smothered his face with his pillow.

===

Tigereye made a half-hearted barrel roll onto the roof of his building, and landed sprawled on his back.

He had managed to hide the mood he'd been in the entirety of patrol. It had even been almost fun, especially considering the situation with the stray cats, which he honestly couldn't wait to share with Adrien.

It was catching up with him, now though.

He sighed, feeling tired.

His ear twitched to the side, and he followed it.

" _When I talk to my friends so quietly…_ " came a voice singing a little ways away. " _Who he think he is? Look at what you've done to me…_ "

Luka rolled up, driven by curiosity, and scampered to the edge of the roof on all fours, which felt a little weird, but only after the fact.

" _Tennis shoes, don't even need to buy a new dress,_ " the singing continued. " _You and me, ain' nobody to impress…_ "

It was Marinette, singing slowly and softly.

Luka crept down the fire escape, somehow not making a sound, and peeked in her window.

" _It's the way that you know what I thought I knew,_ " she continued. " _It's the beat that my heart skips when I'm with you…_ "

She was brushing her hair in the mirror on the old dresser, wearing nothing but a towel.

Luka was staring in wonder, and part of him warned that he shouldn’t be snooping.

She'd noticed him arrive, of course, in the mirror. His blue eyes had begun to glow at night, same as Chat's, though much sooner than his, for some reason.

He looked almost cute, wide eyed, peeking in from the corner of the window with a questionably innocent expression. It made her smile as much as his earlier incident with the stray cats had. Of course, she wondered if he was going to realise he was staring at an undressed lady and look away or not, and was a little nervous about the answer.

" _Cause I know I don't understand_ ," she kept singing so as not to tip him off. " _Just how your love can do what no-one else can…_ "

His eyes squinted a little, a cat thing that signalled he was enjoying the sound of her song.

Marinette put the brush down, hoping to give him ample warning before uncovering. She supposed she _was_ turned away from him, and thus he likely wouldn't be able to see too much, but still…

As soon as she reached for where the corner was tucked to keep the towel wrapped around her, she saw him make a tiny gasp and smack his hands over his eyes.

She almost burst into giggles, but decided to hurry up and get dressed for his sake.

Marinette retrieved her favourite nightgown from her bag and slipped it on over her head. It was light, only for the warmest nights. Pink silk in the front to cover, and black sheer in the back to cool, hemmed together with just a little black lace and a tiny bow or two to feel cute.

She reached around for the buttons in the back, having some trouble with their position.

"I hate that I need these things," she muttered.

She saw Tigereye peek through his fingers, his cheeks red under the black lines of the mask.

Luka felt like he might explode.

That nightgown was see-through in the back, and he was getting the clearest view of her butt that he'd ever seen in his five years of knowing her, and he wanted nothing more than to come up behind her and pull up the fabric and knead at her butt and whisper sweet words to her while he kissed her neck and trailed his hand other hand along her skin to-

"Say, Tiger, could you come help me with these?" Marinette beckoned, snapping him from his thoughts.

He flinched, startled, and made an expression of fear and surprise.

"C'mon, it can be how you pay me back for being a peeping tom." she teased.

He looked embarrassed, but crawled through the window and came up behind her anyway.

She felt the feather-light brushes of his claws against the skin of her back as he did up the three little buttons, and turned to face him with a smirk.

"Sorry for spying," Tigereye mumbled, ears flattening and looking away.

"Don't worry. I know you weren't looking." Marinette replied gently, giving his arm a pat. "You doing okay?"

"Bad day," his shoulders made the slightest shrug. "But otherwise I'm fine."

"I'm glad." she picked a stray cat hair from his rolled up jacket cuff. "Meet some other cats tonight, did you?"

"Oh, yes, I had a family reunion this evening," Tigereye joked weakly. "Distant cousins, shitty life commentary from people you haven't seen in five years, y'know, the usual."

Marinette giggled, and he felt an awful lot better. He even tried a smile.

"How's… um," she got nervous. "How's Chat?"

"He was having a bit of a sulk yesterday," Luka admitted, toning down the information so as to seem like it had been less of a terrifying thing to go through. "God knows what for. But he's good. He's happy, I think. I hope."

"Good," Marinette breathed a sigh of relief.

Luka noticed her nightgown's strap had fallen down her shoulder and instinctively reached out to brush it back up with his finger.

"I like this," he withdrew his hand. "Where'd you get it?"

"I made it," she shrugged. "It's fun to be able to make whatever I feel like wearing."

Tigereye nodded thoughtfully.

Marinette yawned and Luka smiled. It _was_ late and she _had_ been running all day. It was high time for her to get some rest.

"I'll let you sleep." he turned for the window. "S-sorry again, ab-about before…"

"Relax, Tiger," Marinette sighed and smiled at him. "No harm, no foul, and all that."

Tigereye gave a little wave and clambered up the fire escape again.

Marinette shook her head and just flopped down on the bed.

===

Luka returned to Marinette after getting in the door, because he wouldn't ever not want to do so.

"Marinette?" he peeked through the door.

"Mm?" she replied sleepily.

"I came to say goodnight." Luka whispered.

"Come over and say it, then, you dork…" Marinette rolled over.

He approached the bed, trying not to think about the nightgown, and sat down to lean over her.

"Goodnight, Ma-Ma-Marinette," he smiled and nuzzled her cheek.

"Mm, goodnight, rockstar," she brought a hand up to his face and held it so she could kiss him.

Luka would have crawled into the bed and kissed her a hundred more times if Adrien weren't waiting up for him.

He settled for smooching her cheek twice or thrice more before leaving her to sleep.

Adrien was snoozing when he got into his room.

While he undressed, Luka battled the thoughts today had brought. Thoughts about Adrien and Billy and Marinette and Nino.

He looked over to Adrien, listened to his breathing and the odd little hum he sometimes made in his sleep, and remembered he should meditate soon, but he decided everything was probably okay for now.

Luka yawned and pecked his bedmate's cheek before he flopped down on his side of the bed and let sleep take him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are about to get
> 
> interesting :3c
> 
> an update! i recently secured a job where i get to write during work so hopefully chapters will be Just A Tad More Consistent from now on
> 
> if anyone here doesnt know, my miraculous tumblr is "universeenthusiast"


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning! this chapter contains an explicit masturbation scene
> 
> like if u thought it wouldnt get this blatant .... it did,
> 
> so as usual do what you gotta do to be safe !!

When Marinette woke, earlier than her alarm, she decided to just have a little coffee and get an early start on all her chores.

She wasn't sure how she was going to handle the tough conversations she would need to have today and tomorrow, but she was sure that she would get through them somehow.

She emerged from her room, only to find Luka on the couch.

He was meditating, eyes closed, but his shoulders were tense and his hands looked weak.

Marinette smiled softly and stepped over with enough weight to announce but not to interrupt.

"Morning," she whispered, reaching out to brush her fingers against his cheek.

He nuzzled her hand and opened his eyes to look up at her. He parted his lips, perhaps to speak, but only ended up revealing that he presently didn't have the ability.

"Aw," Marinette soothed, holding his face gently. "It's alright, Luka."

He smiled gratefully.

"Want me to join you?" she asked softly.

He nodded and leant back a little. She climbed into his lap and crossed her legs like his. He gently laced his fingers with hers and curled their arms in her lap.

"Big breath in," she murmured.

She felt his chest press lightly to her back and closed her eyes.

Marinette let her head roll back onto his shoulder and felt him nuzzle into her neck.

Luka took in a few more deep breaths, some shaky with nerves. His emotions had been swirling in his head and heart all night, but, perhaps worse, it was morning.

It was morning, and so he _craved_. He craved to rub his hands along her thighs, to dip his fingers between her legs, to make her arch against him and moan in pleasure. She'd been unsatisfied for years, he knew. She'd told him. He wanted to make that right.

Marinette was so wonderful and she deserved the world and as many orgasms as she could physically have.

But he kept his hands still and focused on meditating.

_What does the thing look like?_

_Marinette looks like twilight. Hair like the black of night encroaching upon the retreating blue of the sky in her eyes, wearing pink and red clouds, with freckles like stars._

_What does she sound like?_

_Marinette sounds like windchimes and harps._

_What does she feel like?_

_She's smooth when I touch her and gentle when she touches me._

_What does she smell like?_

_Like sugar and spices._

_What does she taste like?_

_I wish I knew._

Luka braved brushing his lips against her neck. She hummed a half-chuckle and her thumbs stroked along his fingers.

Marinette sure would have liked more kisses. She wanted a lot of kisses. She wanted to spend a whole lot of time kissing Luka and Adrien. Kissing them and holding them and maybe touching them… maybe feeling them touch her.

She still didn't know why she wanted them so close. Why did hugging Luka make her feel like bursting? Why did sitting in Adrien's lap make her want to bounce off the walls?

They did these things all the time, why did they feel different now?

Luka hugged their arms around her middle and sighed into her shoulder.

"Feel any better?"

He nodded.

Marinette turned her neck to kiss his cheek.

"I'm gonna make coffee," she whispered to his skin and kissed him again. "Want some?"

Luka nodded again and turned his head to face her. There was that look in his eyes again.

It made her want to kiss him even more.

She still didn't understand why.

She clambered out of his lap and his hands stayed on her sides as she moved.

Luka tried to stop himself from becoming aroused by her butt, he really did. He rubbed his face with his hands while Marinette put the kettle on.

Before he knew it, she'd returned with his coffee.

"I'm just gonna check if Adrien's up yet, alright?" she brushed her thumb against his cheek. "I'll be right back."

The light touches were killing him, but he couldn't think of a better way to go.

Marinette peeked into the room, and the way she was leaning lifted the hem of the nightgown ever-so-slightly above the curve of her ass where it met her thigh and Luka nearly lost his mind.

"Nope, still asleep," she smiled and retrieved her own coffee.

She walked back over and asked to sit in his lap again.

Luka got nervous, because jeans were pretty good at hiding boners from eyes, but not nervous systems. But, he didn't want to refuse her.

This time she sat sideways and curled into his side, sipping her coffee contentedly.

He sipped his with a shaking hand, the other loosely wrapped around her waist as support and an excuse to touch her.

Marinette made a little hum in satisfaction and Luka ached. She played idly with the collar of his shirt and her fingers and the tips of her nails tickled his collarbone.

His eyes fluttered closed and his cheeks warmed. He tried to focus on drinking his coffee.

"How is it?" she asked softly, draining her mug.

Luka was almost thankful he couldn't speak yet. He just nodded and forced a smile.

Marinette put her mug on the floor and closed her eyes and nuzzled into him again. He put his empty mug down too and hugged her, touching as much of her with himself that courtesy allowed.

She gave him a look, one filled with what he easily recognized as a low, simmering lust, though if she knew she was showing - let alone _feeling_ \- that specific emotion, he really wasn’t sure.

His eyes dipped into that look she loved so much.

And then, unknowing who'd started, they were kissing.

For Luka, every second that passed was like heaven, but he was terrified.

For Marinette, the kiss felt right, but not right enough. It was as if kissing were only the first ingredient in a recipe and she couldn't figure out the rest of the instructions.

Step One: Kissing. Check.

Step Two: ???

But what a kiss it was. She'd never been kissed like this before, so deeply, so softly. It even tasted like sweetened coffee.

Luka made a little hum in the back of his throat and she answered with a muffled chuckle.

Luka moved instinctually, pressing her back against the armrest of the couch and shifting with her, centering himself so their bodies lined up properly and he could hold her tighter.

At first, it seemed like the right move, as Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck and her squeezed legs around his waist and made a happy hum as they continued to smooch almost shamelessly.

In Marinette's head, things seemed to be becoming clearer. It felt like this may have been Step Two in the mystery recipe for… she supposed for a cure to whatever odd emotion she was feeling right now.

Step One: Kissing.

Step Two: Kissing and Cuddling At The Same Time. Check.

Step Three: ???

What on earth more would she have to do?

Luka broke from her lips and she gave a breathless giggle. His lips brushed along her cheek and began a trail of kisses along her jaw.

"Mmm, Luka…" Marinette sighed his name in affectionate satisfaction.

Luka's arousal twitched in his jeans and Marinette noticed it in the peripherals of her thoughts, and then slowly become aware of the bulge pressing against her butt.

She couldn't help the slight gasp.

Luka froze, tensed up and pulled back from her, face red.

"G-gosh, Luka," Marinette smirked, unsure of anything to do but get playful, but stuttering and going pink anyway. "Just from a little kissing?"

Luka made a groan and then a whimper and buried his face in his hands.

"Aw, no," she soothed, reaching for his arms to comfort. "It's alright, Luka, it's alright."

He whined and wouldn't lower his hands.

"No, c'mon, I'm sorry for teasing," Marinette tugged gently at his wrists. "It's natural, right?"

Luka made a weak hum of affirmation, vocal ability still vastly limited.

"It's alright," she whispered again, leaning close to his face and prying his hands down. "This is normal and okay."

He avoided her gaze, still embarrassed. She tangled her fingers with his and kissed his cheek. Suddenly, his blue eyes snapped to her in wonder.

"But do you wanna stop?" Marinette asked with a soft smile.

 _Dear god no, no, please, jesus fucking christ please no, please keep kissing me,_ Luka's brain begged. _Please kiss me and let me kiss you, please, please, let me finger you, please, this is the closest we've ever been, please, I wanna hear you cumming so bad, love, please..._

The short answer was no, he really didn't want to stop. But he nodded anyway.

Marinette smiled a gentle smile and nuzzled her nose against his.

"I should get dressed," she told him. "Do you think, when Adrien wakes up, you could take him for a bath? I wanna clean up your room a little bit."

Luka nodded and she climbed out of his lap.

"And, Luka?" Marinette stroked his cheek lightly and looked into his eyes. "That… was really nice. Please don’t be afraid to try again another time."

His cheeks went bright red once more and he did the squinty thing Chat and Tigereye did.

In truth, she wanted to crawl back into his lap and kiss him again and again and push him onto his back and lie all over him and feel his hands on her skin. But, to what end, she wasn't sure, and that's precisely why she wasn't risking it.

Instead she kissed his forehead and left him to get changed.

===

Marinette cleaned as much as she could of the apartment and then went over all the spots shed cleaned again.

She would admit that she was holding off on leaving, because she didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave the cozy apartment, or her boys. She didn't want to have the conversation she'd have to have with them before she left.

She didn't want to go back to the bakery, and she didn't want to be alone.

She wanted to stay here, where it was easy and fun and sweet to be. Where she could take a bath or go for a run or watch a movie whenever she wanted.

Where Adrien and Luka were, where they had coffee with her and told her that her cooking was good and that her sewing was good and played wonderful music and touched her and kissed her.

It was all so good and Marinette never wanted to leave. 

But if she wanted to stay, she was going to have to go talk to her parents.

And that meant, she told herself as she stood pouting at the door, taking the laundry and walking out the door and going home.

She was thoroughly out of things to do here, but there would be a lot of preparing to do at home, so now was the time to leave.

Marinette put all her things by the door and took a deep breath and headed down the hall to tell the boys.

"… and so I turn around to glare him down, okay," came Luka's voice. "And the little fucker looks me in the eye and swats it again."

"Did you chase him?" Adrien asked in what sounded like delight.

"Yeah," Luka replied. "Like I was gonna let him get away with that."

Marinette peeked her head in the door.

"So I'm running around and jumping and playing with him and his little buddies," Luka was rubbing shampoo bubbles through Adrien's hair. "And I'm not even paying attention to anything else, and like thirty minutes pass. Eventually, I realized the Little Lady was laughing and I felt a bit stupid, but… all in all, it was fun."

"Sometimes that's what you need," Adrien replied, making a little hum from Luka's fingers on his scalp. "Nights can be super boring, so a little random fun stuff is so good."

"Alright, sunshine, dip." Luka smiled and gave Adrien's shoulder a pat. 

Adrien turned and dunked himself down in the big bathtub.

"Hey," Marinette called softly.

"Hey, gorgeous," Luka reached down for a bottle of conditioner and a comb. "What's up?"

Marinette took a moment to reply as she realised Luka was shirtless. She'd seen him shirtless before, of course, but something about today seemed to be messing with her ability to function.

"Usual," she said, feeling a little spacey. "What, uh, whatcha doin?"

" _Someone_ , not mentioning names," Luka smiled and subtly nodded in the direction of their submersed roommate. "Needed help washing his hair."

Adrien came up from his dip and shook his head rapidly to shed the water.

Luka chuckled and held his arms up to shield himself from the flying droplets.

Marinette was frozen. She'd also seen Adrien shirtless, probably an equal amount of times as Luka, but she found herself staring anyway, still with no clue as to why.

Luka squirted some conditioner into Adrien's hair and began to scrub it through again.

For a moment, Marinette just swallowed thickly. She had been quiet for too long. She should say something.

"I'm coming." Marinette said. "WAIT, NO, I'M GOING. I'M GOING HOME."

"Gonna check on the bakery, Mari?" one of Adrien's eyes closed in the happy squint resulting from Luka's scrubbing.

"Actually, my parents are coming home tomorrow," Marinette replied. "And I need to go down - BACK, I NEED TO GO BACK."

"You go back every day, though," Luka brought the comb up and began to gently run it through Adrien's soaked blond hair.

"Well, tonight I need you overnight." Marinette tried to focus on her words and not the cute image of the gentle, caring boys before her. "I MEAN I NEED _TO_ OVERNIGHT. I NEED TO BE AT THE BAKERY OVERNIGHT."

"Why?" Adrien asked, his head sifting with every movement of the comb.

"I should touch you in your room. TELL, TELL YOU IN YOUR ROOM." Marinette wanted to melt into a puddle and leak away down the drain.

Her knees sure felt weak enough.

"Sure, baby, just give us a minute to get sunshine all cleaned up." Luka dipped the comb in the water and they both smiled brightly at her.

Marinette swallowed and gave a nervous smile and a shaky thumbs up in reply, and went to go quadruple check that her stuff was all packed.

===

"Alright, love," Luka called. "Come on in."

Marinette peeked into the bedroom. Both boys were fully dressed - whether unfortunately or thankfully, she couldn't decide - and expectantly waiting for her to join them. She walked over and sat between them.

"Okay, so…" Marinette took a deep breath. "You know how my parents get back tomorrow?"

"Mhm." Luka hummed and Adrien nodded, watching her intently.

"Well, I need to be home before they are," she sighed. "And I need a lot of time before they get back, so I can't wait till tomorrow morning."

"Why, Mari?" Adrien cocked his head.

"Well…" she bit her lip. "I have… a bit of a confession…"

Luka and Adrien exchanged a glance.

"Luka," she turned to him. "I didn't tell my papa that I would be staying with you. Mama knew, but… but only mama."

All the color drained from Luka's face.

"And I didn't get a chance to tell either of them about your leg, Adrien," Marinette turned to him too.

Adrien swallowed.

"So I have to go back and make it look like I've been staying there, which will take a little time." she chewed her lip. "And then I will have to talk to them about everything over lunch."

The boys exchanged glances again.

"If I'm lucky," she gave a nod like she was more confident than she was. "I can move back in before bedtime tomorrow-" 

"Move back in?" Luka asked.

"Yeah, I…" Marinette blushed. "I want to move in here longer, if that's okay."

Luka and Adrien both opened up at this.

"How long?" Luka almost begged.

"At least until Adrien's cast comes off," Marinette shrunk a little under their gazes. "Maybe… maybe a little longer, if… y'know, if that's alright with you…"

"Oh, please, please do," Adrien actually begged. "Please, Mari, we need you!"

"Please," Luka mimicked. "You're about the only thing keeping us alive out here."

"We'd be lost without you," Adrien blinked his big green eyes.

Marinette went red and smiled sillily.

"Do you think your parents will let you?" Luka asked.

"Well, it's only a short walk to the bakery, so I won't be late for work," she shrugged nervously. "And having Adrien here will probably be _good_ for my classes, if anything…"

There was a longing in both the boys' eyes as they bored into her.

"I'll try my best." Marinette promised.

Luka and Adrien hugged her tight at the same time, and the three of them fell back onto the bed, chuckling. They stayed there snuggling for a little bit.

"Marinette, I'm stoked you're moving in and all." Luka mumbled with a blank expression on his face, mindlessly nuzzling her. "But I think your dad's gonna snap me like a fucking breadstick."

Marinette burst into laughter and sat up. They followed.

"And he's gonna snap Adrien like a slightly taller, much more muscular breadstick," Luka swallowed.

" _Luka_ ," Marinette tutted. "You know very well Papa would never raise a hand to an injured man."

"Hey!" Adrien complained. "I can still fight!"

He jabbed at Marinette and Luka's sides gently with a weak fist and all their chuckles returned.

"So, now what?" Adrien pouted a little. "Do you leave right now?"

"I have coffee with Kagami and then I head back to the bakery." Marinette nodded sadly. "But I'll call tonight, promise."

The boys hugged her again and this time, they got as close as they could without squeezing her to death.

Luka kissed at her neck and Adrien kissed at her cheek and she giggled and hummed and touched her hands to their arms.

This. This was what felt right.

But she had to go.

So she kissed them goodbye and grumbled down the stairs and out into the street.

===

Marinette spent a very long time fixing up the house.

She moved things in each room - blankets on the couch to look like she'd been sitting on it late at night, some cutlery and a plate or two to make it look like she'd eaten, and cleared out out-of-date things from the fridge.

She did laundry and watered her flowers and made the beds afresh, and left some of her works-in-progress strewn about her room to look as though she'd been busy.

She decided to cook something for dinner, and turned to call out to the boys to ask what they wanted, before seeing the bookshelf in the corner and remembering that this was the wrong place.

That was when it started, she supposed. The wanting.

She wanted Luka to come up behind her while she cooked and whisper that it smelt good while he hugged her waist.

She wanted that look on Adrien's face when she handed him his plate, like it was Christmas and she'd given him a gift from under the tree, she thought as she ate.

She wanted their enthusiastic sounds as they battled each other on Mecha Strike, their sleepy hums when she checked on them in the mornings.

Adrien blowing little bubbles in his bathwater when he was bored. Luka lazily singing Jagged Stone songs every night in the shower.

She wanted their warmth, she decided as she undressed for bed and found that the air was cool tonight. She missed sleeping in little tangled piles with them, even though the amount of times that had happened could probably be counted on one hand.

Marinette considered her pyjamas and Luka's hoodie, and chose the hoodie.

It smelt like him and felt like a hug.

Like the hug he'd given her this morning.

She still hadn't given it much thought, but she had been busy up until right now.

Now seemed like a good time to consider, Marinette decided as she crawled into the sheets.

Those kisses had been… wonderful. Luka's hands were warm and gentle and they'd held her so softly and, oh, she was getting all fluttery just thinking about it.

But then he'd gotten a boner.

Marinette's cheeks warmed and she bit her lip. 

She'd never had sex. She'd been single all her life, and she hadn't exactly been going anywhere one might pick up a one-night-stand.

She _was_ acquainted with sex, of course, through things like health information and talks with her mother and Chat Noir and Alya and Kagami and even a little self-exploration. Luka, too, used to tell her stories and health things he learnt and give her advice, as long as he knew she was comfortable talking about it, and she should have known by now that sex was nothing to be scared of.

But, somehow, she still felt like there was something to be worried about.

What would it have been like if she'd kept going with Luka this morning?

He would have pressed close and kissed her until she was wet. He would have pushed up her nightgown and played with her breasts and told her quiet, sweet things and kissed her more… and then, maybe he'd undo his jeans, and…

Marinette squirmed in bed, her legs pressing together. She pouted. The low hum in her gut asked for attention.

She didn't want to give it.

Luka would want to. Luka was so good to her… and he would definitely know what he was doing, too. He'd have her burning and moaning his name and clinging to the sheets for dear life and he wouldn't even be tired yet. He'd be telling her she was beautiful and kissing and sucking on all her soft spots and…

And, oh dear, she probably wasn't going to be able to ignore this, was she?

Marinette scrunched her face up and tried to think about something else, but all she spied was a couple of photos on her wall. Photos of her school friends and memorable events and… and Adrien.

The feeling in her tummy got more intense as she thought of him.

How would Adrien take care of it?

She used to know Adrien to be cocky, like Chat Noir was, if more subtly, but now she knew he would definitely be shy in the bedroom. Adrien was a virgin, like she was, which wouldn't make any sense if she didn't know it from his own mouth, but she'd always imagined he'd have some kind of assuredness in the bedroom.

Now, though? After living with him for a while? Gone from her mind was the image of some confident young Apollo in human form. She knew now that Adrien would be all flustered and slow, like she would be. He'd be nervous and need reassuring himself, especially if his cast was still on.

Marinette would lead for him, going slowly, gently on his precious heart but firm on his strong body. She could imagine trailing her fingers along his impressive muscles, watching his abs flutter with nerves, his arms quiver as he stroked his palms along her skin.

Oh, what would he feel like inside her?

What would Luka feel like inside her?

Marinette's legs squeezed together again and after a little mental assessing of the severity of her state, she realized there really was no escaping this tonight.

She crawled over to the space between the mattress and the wall and plucked out her little box.

It had been a gift from Kagami, because, to be frank, there was no way Marinette would or could have ever bought it for herself, but Kagami wasn't one to hesitate.

And, Marinette would admit, she had certainly gotten a fair amount of use out of them.

She flushed in the face, feeling guilty as she opened the box.

A little rainbow of vibrators stared back at her. She'd go through them in her head and decide which one to use.

Red? Oof, no, Kagami was too cold to satisfy what she was feeling.

Orange? No, no, Alya was the on the opposite end of the spectrum - too hot for what she needed right now.

Yellow? Eugh, absolutely not. She had to be in a _very_ particular mood if she wanted to use Chloe's.

Light Green, easily her most used one, but… maybe using Adrien's tonight would feel a little strange.

Dark Green. Nino… mm, Nino…

Nino would be gentle with her, his hands would be warm on her skin. His kisses would be soft and she knew he'd feel amazing if Alya's tales were true.

But, as she considered his vibrator, her brain reminded that tonight she was in _need_ of something. Nino was what she wanted, but not what she needed right now. 

Blue. Marinette used Luka's vibrator more than she would admit, but something still didn't feel right.

Her breath hitched.

The black sparkly one in the end of the box, that she'd only ever used once or twice.

Chat Noir's vibrator.

Marinette felt a pang in her chest. She missed him, she really did. Where was he?

Where was her kitty?

She wanted him back. She wanted him to knock on her skylight and come down into her bed where he belonged and hug her and hold her and never let go.

Marinette picked the black vibe out. 

This was what she had been needing, hadn't it?

She'd been needing her kitty.

Chat Noir was her _best friend_ , more than Nino or Luka or Alya, and she loved him. She loved him and she missed him and she _needed_ him.

She wanted him to kiss her till she was breathless, wanted him to whisper how he loved her like he did when he thought she couldn't hear.

She knew she couldn't undress him and his claws did intimidate her, but he had a mouth and a baton and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about having both between her legs.

Marinette closed the box and put it to the side and lay back.

She'd kissed Chat Noir before, but only a few times, and never as Marinette. She wanted to. She wanted to kiss him a lot now.

She unzipped Luka's hoodie, dragging the metal tag down, down, and opening her legs wide.

She was soaked and it made her feel a little guilty, but a mental reminder that this was natural and fine (courtesy of a well-kept memory of Luka) let her relax. The vibrator buzzed as she flicked it on.

Pressing it lightly against herself made her buck and whimper, and pushing between her folds pulled a moan from her throat.

Her free hand crept up to her chest and played with one of her little breasts.

Marinette could picture him sliding his baton in and out of her like she moved the toy, could imagine the look on his face as he watched her writhe for him.

She _knew_ Chat loved her, both of her, and it may seeme like smugness at first glance, but the look in his eyes would be low.

" _Ch-chaton_ ," she whimpered.

She thought about his broad shoulders, his powerful muscles. The way he carried her like she weighed nothing, but still so gently. The way he smiled at her, the way the sunlight would catch in his blonde hair, and his eyes. Oh, his eyes…

Those green eyes could make her heart melt.

And, apparently, they could make her legs feel like they were melting, too.

The feeling in her gut was beginning to burn and the vibrator was beginning to slip as she moved it.

"Ch-Chat, I-" Marinette began to lose focus.

She pushed the vibrator deep and her entire body tried to close around it, her stomach crunching, her legs pulling together, her arms hugging around her middle.

A whine began to fall from her throat, growing louder and louder as the hum between her thighs began to get overwhelming.

She gasped and finished with a yelp, and then fell limp.

Removing the toy was difficult, because she was always very sensitive after using them, but she got it out and turned it off and put it in some tissues to clean in a while.

Marinette lay back and zipped Luka's hoodie up and pulled the blankets up around her shoulders, needing to snuggle into something.

She was now even more confused. She felt good from the orgasm, of course, but she also felt… miserable.

She wanted a tight hug. She wanted someone to whisper encouragements in her ear.

She wanted Chat Noir back.

Marinette found herself sniffling and got grumpy. Why was she sad? What on earth was she sad for?

She huffed and got up to clean up and clean the vibrator.

"Marinette?" Tikki piped up as she returned to the bed.

"Mm?" Marinette replied, putting the box back in its spot between mattress and wall.

"You're sad," Tikki said gently. "How about you call Luka and Adrien? Maybe they can cheer you up."

Marinette wriggled into her bedsheets again and got comfy, and then looked over at her phone and bit her lip.

She reached for it.

===

"Ugh, it's too hot." Adrien complained, wrangling off his shirt and tossing it over Luka onto the floor.

"Actually, yeah," Luka sat up and took off his as well, then paused.

"You okay?" Adrien asked.

"Mm? Yeah, I'm just… gonna…" Luka stood up and went to the bookcase at the end of his bed, grabbing a little box.

"Gonna what?" Adrien frowned.

Luka fished around in the box, picking out some little things Adrien couldn't see in the darkened room and frowning at them.

"Be right back." Luka said, tossing the box to the foot of the bed and disappearing out the door.

Adrien blinked in confusion, and, driven by curiosity, made the considerable effort to scoot down the bed to inspect the box.

A whole lot of little metal and plastic things were inside. Adrien frowned. They looked like Chloe's belly bar collection, but they were too small, and there were two of each.

Adrien realised he was looking at Luka's chest jewellery.

He went red, but somehow, didn't feel the urge to put down the box.

Instead, against the little warnings sounding in the back of his head, he poked around in it.

The jewellery was all silver and black and blue, but one or two had green or purple bits on them.

He picked out a silver one with black spikey ends.

"Wouldn't this hurt…" he whispered in concern.

He dropped it back in an found one that was black with neon green balls on either end. He cocked his head at it.

"See something you like in there?" Luka's voice made him flinch.

"S-sorry," Adrien stuttered at him, holding out the box.

"Relax, kitten." Luka took the box and dropped two silver pieces of jewellery with spikes on the ends into it and put it back on the shelf. "It's alright to be curious."

Luka ruffled Adrien's hair and he smiled, both from the nickname and the affectionate gesture.

"Sooo… what were you doing, anyway?" Adrien scooched back to his spot.

"Oh, just changing them out," Luka flopped down beside him. "I put in round ones so I'm less likely to poke holes in you when I sleep shirtless."

"Oh!" Adrien laid back. "Uh, th-thank you?"

Luka just chuckled.

"What other piercings you got?" Adrien swallowed. "Any I… haven't seen?"

"Nope, you've seen all of them." Luka shuffled. "Two in both ears, one in my nose, and, obviously, these. Seven, all up, but I wanna get more eventually."

Adrien nodded thoughtfully.

"You got any more?" Luka reached up and gently brushed a fingertip at the gold sleeper in Adrien's ear.

"Oh, no, no." Adrien cringed, but not from the touch. "If I'd gotten any more my father would have skinned me."

Luka shuddered at the image.

"I mean, I did consider…" Adrien chewed his lip and trailed off. "Uh, nevermind."

"No, c'mon, what?" Luka smiled. "You can tell me, sunshine, I won't bite."

"Funny you should use that particular phrase," Adrien laughed nervously. "Snake bites. I… kinda want snake bites."

Luka turned and looked all over his face with a considering expression.

"You'd look good with those." Luka nodded approvingly. "Get some black horseshoe barbells, maybe with green ends."

Adrien gave a little smile.

"Makes kissing a little risky, though," Luka warned, relaxing again. "Especially if the other person's got their tongue done. Piercings are fun, but they can also be dangerous."

"Noted." Adrien nodded. "Speaking of kissing…"

Luka looked over in surprise.

"Were you making out with Marinette on the couch this morning?" Adrien elbowed him lightly.

Luka went red in the cheeks.

"Ah, don't worry, you don't have to answer." Adrien patted his arm.

Luka began to breathe again.

"I saw it." Adrien smirked.

Luka made a little whimper in the back of his throat.

"Can't blame you for getting hard, either," Adrien teased. "That nightgown has almost defeated Chat Noir before."

Luka buried his face in his hands.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Adrien rolled close and hugged him. "But it _is_ a little boring being left out."

"What, you want kisses too?" Luka lowered his hands and looked at him in questioning.

Adrien went a little pink and looked all around the room and then opened his mouth to answer, or perhaps ask a question in return, but was interrupted.

Luka's phone sounded from the nightstand, and the boys exchanged a glance and went to pick it up.

Marinette's Caller ID picture was a photo that Adrien had never seen before, an image of her in a blue dress on the ice.

Luka picked up.

"Hey, baby girl," he spoke gently, concern clear in his voice. "Everything alright?"

[Yeah!] came her reply through the phone. [Yeah, I'm… I'm okay.]

Luka tapped the speaker button and placed the phone on the pillow between their heads, and both of them rolled to face it.

[Just, uh…] She sounded as though she were sniffling. [Y'know, just… calling like I said I would.]

"Whoa, hey, Mari," Adrien looked worried. "Are you crying?"

[What? _No_ ,] she laughed nervously. [It's just the-the dust, there's some dust in the corner above my bed. I must have missed it on my cleaning sprees.]

"….As long as you're alright." Adrien said, but neither he nor Luka were convinced.

[I'm fine,] Marinette sounded like she was shrugging. [I just wanted to check that _you_ guys are okay.]

"It's only been a few hours since you left, Mari," Adrien smiled. "It's not like we would have burned the place down or anything."

[No, I _know_ ,] she reasoned. [I'm just…]

Luka caught on in no time.

"Hey, Marinette?" he smiled gently at the phone. "We miss you, too."

The realization hit Adrien and he smiled, too.

On the other end, Marinette was feeling too low and too tired to protest.

[We miss you,] came Luka's voice from her phone. [And if waking up there wouldn't get me brutally murdered by your dad, I'd be carrying Adrien up all those stupid stairs right now so you wouldn't have to be alone.]

Warmth spread through her chest, a different kind than the one that had spread from her gut only a few minutes earlier, but one far nicer-feeling.

She smiled and hugged her pillow close.

Luka bit his lip and shared a look with Adrien.

"We love you, Ma-Ma-Marinette," he said quietly, swallowing.

"We do," Adrien licked his lips nervously.

Marinette went bright red and she smiled stupidly wide and squeezed the pillow even tighter.

"I love you both, too." she whispered into the dark.

===

Marinette managed to hold in her anxiety about the talk she'd need to have with her parents until the very last minute.

They looked fine, if more relaxed, from their trip. Her papa had a bit of a tan and her mama had gotten a lovely haircut.

Marinette, in comparison, looked as through she'd crawled through a hurricane. Her hair was messily put up, the clothes she had chosen to wear today were ones that hadn't come out of her dresser in two weeks, and her night - the last few nights, even - had been, in a word, restless, and it showed on her face.

She was fidgeting and chewing her lip and eating too slowly and finally, Sabine decided to put her at ease.

"So, dear, how did you go while we were away?"

"A-about that…"

Marinette took a deep breath and puffed out her chest.

"Mama, Papa," she said with far more courage than she felt. "We should talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to clarify, in case its not clear by the implications, marinette "needs" *both* luka and adrien/chat, but since she still doesnt know adrien/chat are the same person yet, she still has that mental separation of them in her head and can only really think about one or the other
> 
> i have had a rough week my dudes so idk how next weeks upd8 is gonna go but i hope i get back to a consistent schedule lmao


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so hey quick wanring !!! this chapter features three instances of dudes getting upset (tom at the start, nino with luka in the middle, and adrien at the end). no one gets hurt and everyone is okay and fine in the end but if angry men are a trigger for u, take a breath or click away etc etc, especially towards the end bc thats the most intense one
> 
> also there is some discussion of sex and masturbation so u kno. be aware of that too
> 
> i want u to b safe

Marinette held her breath.

She'd explained (almost) everything.

The plan to stay with Luka for a while, the shopping, the unexpected visit from Adrien, the leg, Luka's mistake, the fight with Adrien's father, and caring for them ever since.

She'd explained her plan to move in and how she would keep her work and studies up.

She'd apologized for not telling her papa sooner, and for the inconvenience, and then went quiet.

Her parents seemed to be thinking.

Anxiety, concern and fear balled in her throat. She was already rehearsing how to tell her boys that her parents had forbid her from ever looking at their faces again and planning how to sneak out to bring them food and kisses and-

"Breathe, darling," Sabine interrupted her thoughts.

"W-well?" Marinette swallowed.

"I'm going to go over there… and **_talk_** to those hooligans." Tom said, and the look on his face warned that there wouldn't be much talking involved.

Marinette got a quick image of both her boys dead and floating down the Seine and her heart stuttered.

" _Tom_." Sabine scolded.

"How dare those-those _hoodlums_ take my little girl and make her a… a house slave!" he scowled.

"Papa!" Marinette yelped, offended. "I am _not_ a slave!"

"Both of you hush." Sabine ordered.

Both father and daughter shrank in their seats.

"Here is what we're _not_ going to do," Sabine picked up her tea and took a sip. "We are _not_ going to hurt those boys any more than they have already been hurt. We are _not_ going to ignore our daughter's wishes, and we are also _not_ going to ignore the amount of thought that she has clearly put into this."

Marinette bit her lip. Tom grumbled something in Italian under his breath that she didn't catch.

"What we _are_ going to do," Sabine continued. "Is help Marinette pack and send those boys some good food."

Marinette could have drowned in the wave of relief that crashed over her. She immediately got up and embraced her mother.

"Thank you, mama," she almost whimpered.

"Of course, we have to agree on some things." Sabine warned. "If you start being late to work, if your grades start dropping-"

"Absolutely not, mama," Marinette promised.

"-or if you get pregnant, we're going to bring you straight home."

Marinette almost choked at that.

Her face quickly flushed. Her first instinct, of course, was to deny that there was anything remotely close to a chance of her getting pregnant, but after a few more thoughts on the last few days, she decided to just keep quiet and thank her younger self for having the wisdom to get her implant.

"Yes, mama."

"And the father can move back in with you," Sabine assured. "We just want to be sure you're both being taken care of properly."

"Assuming we can figure out which one of them the father is…" Tom muttered.

"PAPA!" Marinette squeaked.

" _Tom_ ," Sabine warned.

He shrugged grumpily and crossed his big arms.

"Go and check on the bakery, dear." Sabine suggested. "See what we need to do before we open again tomorrow."

He got up and put his dishes in the sink and trudged down the stairs, growling under his breath.

"I'll wash up, you go start packing." Sabine turned to Marinette. "We should get you back to those boys before they starve."

"Thank you so much, mama!" Marinette tripped out of her chair and hugged her and then made for the stairs.

"And one more, thing, dear." her mother called.

"Yes, mama?" Marinette blinked.

"You tell those boys that if they hurt you," Sabine said, as cheery as ever. "They will wish they had gone to Hell instead of where I'll send them."

Marinette only nodded and swallowed and darted up the stairs into her room.

===

Luka rubbed his face and put the guitar case back up against the wall. The sound room was finally tidy, and if he ran now, he might have been able to catch Nino on his way out.

He checked his pockets and bolted.

He needed to talk to him.

Luka almost fell down the stairs to the lobby.

"NnnnNNNNNINO," he yelped as he saw his friend at the door.

"Oh, hey dude," Nino nodded. "You good?"

Luka jogged over and tried to look casual.

"Yeah, just wanted to check in with my best friend." Luka smiled.

"Uh huh," Nino rolled his eyes and smiled, heading out the door.

"How ya been?" Luka asked, making sure it closed behind them.

"Alright." Nino looked around. "My roommate's getting worse though."

"The old guy?" Luka scoured his memory. "Is… is he gonna be okay?"

"He's probably got a few years left on him, but…" Nino peered down the street. "It's gonna be hard."

"Oof," Luka offered, then cleared his throat. "So hey, I uh…"

Nino raised an eyebrow at him.

"I saw you at that costume party on Sunday night." Luka lowered his voice a little. "Why didn't you tell me you were invited?"

The reaction in Nino's eyes was _instant_. Before Luka knew what was happening, Nino had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the alleyway between the buildings.

"You think you're fucking clever?" Nino hissed, looking out at the street as if something out there would kill him.

"Nino?" Luka whispered, panicking slightly. "I-I just thought-"

"No! No thinking!" Nino snipped, still looking out to the mostly empty street. "This is not happening."

"C'mon, please," Luka begged quietly. "I'm just so confused, I need-"

"You don't need anything." Nino turned on him. "You have everything. Stop this."

"No!" Luka protested, heart racing. "Please, Nino, you have to explain-!"

"I don't have to explain _anything_!" Nino hissed again. "This conversation ends now."

"Nino!" Luka insisted.

" _Stop_!" Nino snarled.

"Please, Nino, you're all I've got!" Luka pleaded. "You have to tell me _something_!"

"Stop it!" Nino yelped, and his voice broke, and his eyes welled.

Luka froze up.

"You're sounding like Alya…" Nino choked.

Luka gaped.

"Oh, my god, Nino…" he breathed. "Jesus, I'm so sorry…"

"It's fine," Nino whispered, staring at nothing.

"No, it's not, I-" Luka felt Nino's hand leave his arm. "I'm sorry, Nino…"

"It's fine," Nino repeated quietly, swallowing. "You didn't know."

"No, I'm sorry," Luka reached out but retreated his hand again, unsure. "I know I shouldn't be pushing this shit…"

He put his hand to his head.

"But you said all these cagey things? And you- you show up on Sunday in- in…" Luka lowered his voice to a whisper. "In a miraculous? That I never knew about?"

"Did you never hear of Carapace?" Nino asked in disbelief.

"Not before Sunday!" Luka replied desperately. "I didn't even know for sure there were more heroes than Ladybug and Adrien!"

"You were _there_ on Heroes Day five years ago, dude!" Nino yelped. "The whole city took down me and Rena Rouge and Chloe!"

"Weren't you akumas!?" Luka questioned, confused.

"Yeah, but, the rest of the time we-" Nino groaned in frustration and gave up. " _How_ did you not notice the team of five teenagers running around in neon-colored supersuits?"

"There are _five_ miraculouses?" Luka whispered in stunned disbelief.

" _More than five_!" Nino yelped incredulously. "How the fuck do you think Papillon akumatizes people?!"

Luka realized he knew even less than he thought he had.

"I… I didn't know…" he said dumbly.

" _Holy shit, dude_." Nino leant in angrily. "I know you haven't really left that fucking boat since Billy ran you out of school, _but this is some Grade-A 'I just didn't notice' **bullshit**_!"

Luka flinched and shrank back, pain and sadness grabbing at his chest from the inside.

Nino softened.

"I'm sorry…" Luka whispered weakly.

"No, _I'm_ sorry." Nino shook his head, coming close. "I shouldn't have said that. We both know that shit isn't your fault."

"I just-" Luka sniffed, involuntary tears welling, and half-sat, half-fell to the floor of the alley. "I just feel lost."

"Lost." Nino echoed quietly and sat down next to him. "We all feel lost, Luka."

His arm wrapped around Luka's shoulders.

"Adrien feels lost," Nino said softly, rubbing his arm. "Being Chat Noir was his whole world outside that stupid mansion, and now he doesn't have either. You're holding his entire life in your hand, dude."

Luka rested his head on Nino's shoulder.

"Marinette feels lost." Nino went on. "Her best friend is hurt and missing, and he's sitting right there on the couch next to her and she doesn't even know it."

Luka wanted to give Marinette a hug.

"Ladybug feels lost." Nino ran his fingers through his dreads. "She just lost her partner of six years. And, listen, dude, you're great, Luka, you're awesome and you're doing _so_ well considering the circumstances…"

Luka looked up a little to see Nino's face.

"But you're not him." Nino sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "You haven't been through all the shit they've been through together."

"I know." Luka murmured.

"And _**I**_ feel lost." Nino admitted quietly. "My teacher is _dying_. He's got maybe ten years _max_ to teach me thousands of years' worth of knowledge."

Luka's eyes opened a little in shock, but he didn't _dare_ push on that subject.

"Look, Luka," Nino murmured, shuffling a little. "I _want_ to tell you everything. You don't know _half_ the shit you're supposed to, and that's cause you shouldn't know half the shit you _do_."

Some pedestrians passed the alleyway and the square of light on the ground from the midday sun flickered by their feet.

"You were never meant to be _dragged_ into all this." Nino whispered. "It's not fair to you. 'S not fair to anyone."

Luka nuzzled into the fabric of Nino's green shirt, seeking warmth and comfort.

"We gotta play by the miraculous' rules," Nino muttered almost mockingly. "But it fucking sucks."

Luka hummed an agreement.

"I wanna tell you, my dude, I really do." Nino sighed. "'Cause the secrets are driving us crazy."

Nino took off his glasses and wiped them with his shirt.

"They drove my teacher crazy," he mumbled. "They drove my girlfriend crazy."

Luka looked up to the gap between the building rooves above.

"And they drove Adrien and Ladybug crazy a long, long time ago." Nino said, almost ominously.

They sat in a little silence for a moment.

"C'mon," Nino gave him a gentle squeeze. "You should get home before Adrien gets all sulky."

Luka only sighed an agreement.

Another silence, this one heavier and accented with anxious anticipation.

Luka barely had the courage to speak up.

"Nino?" he swallowed, fear still clutching his insides. "Are we still friends?"

"Friends." Nino snorted. "We're not _friends_ , dude."

For a moment, Luka died inside.

"We're teammates." Nino nudged him gently.

"Teammates sounds a little impersonal, though," Luka half-joked, trying to ease his own nerves.

"What would you suggest, huh?" Nino smiled and crossed his arms.

"Ladybug uses 'partners'," Luka shrugged.

"You don't think that sounds the slightest bit intimate?" Nino raised an eyebrow.

"Is…" Luka blushed a little. "Is that a bad thing?"

Nino took a breath, considering.

"No," he sighed and smiled again. "No, it's not."

They stood up together, pausing in the shade of the alley just a little longer before heading out into the heat of the day again.

Nino pulled him into a hug. Luka was eased by just that, but then Nino whispered in his ear.

"I'll find out how much I can tell you. See you tomorrow night."

And with a soft smile and a kiss to his cheek, Nino left Luka in the mouth of the alleyway and disappeared down the street.

And Luka walked to his van and went home, in case Adrien really was starting to get sulky.

===

"The new TV is here," Adrien announced from the couch as Luka walked in.

"I can see that, sunshine," Luka walked over to ruffle his hair. "Set up okay?"

"Mm-hm," Adrien replied happily. "And we got your old one removed."

"Probably for the best," Luka admitted, heading back to the kitchen to grab them a drink. "I don't think I'd ever get around to getting rid of it."

"You're not exactly used to throwing stuff away, are you, rockstar?" teased a pleasantly familiar voice from the door.

"Mari!" Adrien exclaimed happily.

Luka closed the fridge door without word and hugged her immediately.

"Yeah, 'hi' to you, too," she giggled. "I saw you pull up from down the street. Work go okay?"

"Work was…" Luka clicked his tongue. All things considered… "Yeah, work was alright."

"Good." Marinette nodded, and pulled her bag toward the spare bedroom.

The boys exchanged a glance.

"Mari?" Adrien beckoned, pausing the episode of _Sailor Moon_ flashing across the TV.

"Yeah?" she called.

"Well?" Luka raised his eyebrows.

"'Well' what?" Marinette peeked out the door.

There was no way she wasn’t teasing them. 

" _What'd your folks say_?" Adrien and Luka blurted simultaneously.

Marinette burst into giggles and walked out.

"Well," she sat down beside Adrien. "Papa wanted to hang, draw and quarter you both, and mama old me that if I get pregnant she'll send you both to hell."

Luka swallowed and sat beside her.

"But…" Marinette smiled and looked to both of them. "As long as I show up for work and don't start failing my classes… I'm all yours."

 _Ours_ , Adrien thought dreamily.

 _Ours_ , Luka sighed internally, relief and appreciation flooding his head and heart.

Adrien was the first to grab her in a tight hug, and Luka followed.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" she asked with a happy hum.

"Take-out, my treat," Adrien said immediately. "We won't make you cook right after you got back."

"Sounds good." Luka nuzzled in Marinette's hair.

"Yeah." Marinette sighed contentedly.

===

Marinette followed the boys to bed that night, nestling between them to sleep, and none of them questioned it.

Adrien and Luka simply wanted to be as close to her as possible, and Marinette wanted them as close as possible.

They didn't even mind the warmth of the weather, and, for once, she felt relatively unfazed by their shirtlessness.

Adrien's face buried in the back of her neck, her head resting on Luka's elbow, both their arms around her waist… it felt more right than anything in her life.

She pecked Luka's cheek and stroked her thumb across the back of Adrien's hand, a wide, shameless smile making her cheeks ache.

It was good to be home.

===

All three bedmates moved at the sound of her phone's alarm.

"Mm, baby, no, come back…" Luka complained sleepily as she untangled from them.

"Mari… don't leave me…" Adrien mumbled, tightening his hold on her waist, but he was no match for her strength unprepared.

"I have to go to work," Marinette cooed, twisting out of his grasp in an impressive movement. "You know that."

Adrien pouted and she sat up and leant over him and smooched him several times.

"Mm, we know, baby, we just don't like it… want you here…" Luka yawned mid-sentence and rolled onto his back. "With us."

"I wanna be here, too." Marinette moved over and walked her fingers up his chest, bringing a warm smile to his face. "But I'll be home soon."

"Not soon _enough_." Adrien whined.

"I agree," Marinette smooched Luka's lips but gently pushed away his hands as they approached her waist. "Buuut, the sooner you let me go, the sooner I come back."

She kissed Luka a few more times, then kissed Adrien's nose and clambered out of the bed.

"See you later," she smiled from the doorway.

"Nooo…" Adrien complained, quietly and weakly, almost not truly meaning it. "Come back…"

"I know, kitten," Luka reached over and scritched affectionately under Adrien's chin as they fell back to sleep. "Me too."

===

"Does Plagg eat breakfast, too?" Luka asked between yawns as he pulled the milk carton out of the fridge door. 

"Plagg doesn't eat on any given schedule," Adrien replied, pouring Lucky Charms into his bowl. "He just eats camembert whenever he pleases."

"Does he want some now?" Luka eyed the still sizeable pile of boxes in the bottom of the fridge.

"Plagg?" Adrien called lazily.

Silence.

"Plagg?" Adrien called again, this time concern crossing his face.

Luka poured some milk into both their bowls, then, finally awake enough to realize the possible problem, looked to the bedroom door.

"Where the fuck…?"

===

"I like the apron," Plagg sat beside Tikki on the topmost shelf in the back room of the bakery.

"Me too," Marinette dusted her hands of some flour. "It's my favorite. I think I'll take it back and use it at home."

"You plan on murdering those boys where they stand?" Plagg taunted.

"Pffft." Marinette tutted as she squatted down to find a bowl. "This? This wouldn't kill them."

"I don't know, Marinette," Tikki teased. "The way they look at you when you wear normal clothes seems to say otherwise."

"How do they look at me?" Marinette frowned and stood back up to mix.

Plagg and Tikki simply exchanged a glance.

"If you haven't noticed, I don't think you'll believe us if we tell you." the red spirit smiled coyly.

Marinette rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Plagg? Care to enlighten me?"

"Meh, you'll figure it out soon enough." he shrugged.

"You're both as bad as each other," Marinette shook her head and began to stir with a spatula.

===

"Where the hell were you?" Adrien demanded as Plagg appeared from the kitchen and plopped down between the boys on the couch.

"Wherever I wanted to be," Plagg sassed, shoving half a cheese wheel down his own throat.

"You really shouldn't run off like that," Adrien scolded in a sighing tone that told Luka that this was a conversation that had been had many a time.

"Uh-huh." Plagg mumbled dismissively.

"Little shit." Adrien stole a wedge of the goopy cheese and ate it.

Luka hesitantly went to do the same, curious to try the stuff, but received a warning growl and whipped his hand away.

"Be _nice_." Adrien warned the little black kwami.

"Fuck you." Plagg replied, undeterred.

The boys just rolled their eyes and went back to watching TV.

===

" _Ugh_." Marinette closed the apartment door and flopped against it. "It's too hot."

"You're home!" Adrien exclaimed from the couch, and Luka paused the episode of _Sailor Moon_ they'd been watching.

"Yes I am." she replied, a tired smile gracing her face. "And I need a cold shower."

Luka gestured down the hallway with dramatic courtesy.

Marinette giggled and ducked into the spare room to grab comfy clothes.

She made it out the door and halfway down the hall before realizing she was still wearing her apron.

" _Guh_." she grumbled, dropping her fresh clothes to untie it.

"You good, baby?" called Luka.

"Dumb apron!" she answered, tossing it out the hallway and onto the lounge floor.

"I thought it was cute," Adrien said quietly.

Luka just chuckled and got up to retrieve the apron from the carpet, and Marinette picked up her change of clothes and proceeded to the bathroom.

Luka sat back down and had a better look at the apron. Pink and frilly with little red hearts on the chest. He bit his lip, thinking he might need to take a cold shower after Marinette was done.

Adrien seemed relatively unaffected by the garment, and simply unpaused his anime.

Despite the typically sobering temperature of the water, Marinette still seemed to be uncomfortably hot and bothered today. She considered taking care of the insistent problem between her thighs quickly here in the bathtub, but the idea only reminded her of how she had felt after doing the same the night before last.

Alone Time had never left her feeling that way before. Maybe something was wrong…

Perhaps she should ask Luka about it. He knew the most on the topic out of everyone she knew.

Marinette chewed her lip and turned off the water and toweled off and got dressed.

She walked out to toss her work clothes into her room and chewed her lip again.

What if bringing it up made things awkward?

But, then again, what if she didn't, and something was horribly wrong with her, and she never knew?

Marinette swallowed her fears and walked over to the couch.

"Hey, uh…"

Adrien paused the TV again and both boys looked to her.

"I have… a weird question." Marinette hugged herself.

"Shoot," Luka gave a little encouraging nod.

"Do…" her face went red. "Do you guys… ever get… sad… after alone time?"

Luka went wide eyed and he looked… worried.

Before Marinette could backtrack and tell them to forget about it, Adrien spoke.

"Yeah, I do," Adrien swallowed, going pink in the cheeks. "Almost… all the time. Isn't… isn't that normal?"

"No, it isn't!" Luka gaped, drawing both their attentions to him.

He looked between them, surprise clear on his face.

"Then… why?" Marinette asked weakly.

"C'mere." Luka gave a sigh and reached out to her.

She obliged, and he curled around her, then reached out to Adrien, too.

Adrien scooted closer until they were a haphazardly arranged tangle of bodies on the tiny two seater couch.

"Alright, this _is_ gonna get a little intimate, so just…" Luka looked between them. "Just let it go there, okay?"

They both blushed, but he did the same, which eased their minds.

"Listen," Luka took a breath. "Your bodies, alright, your bodies and hearts and minds, they know what they're doing. More than we really give them credit for."

Marinette swallowed.

"Alone Time, by itself, is perfectly fine." Luka went on, looking to Adrien. "It's normal and natural and feels good. But."

"But?" Marinette asked quietly.

"Sometimes we're not just having Alone Time." Luka closed his eyes, still nervous. "Sometimes… we're using Alone Time as a substitute for…"

He chewed the inside of his cheek a moment, trying to think of a gentle way to say it.

"For, uh…" he cleared his throat. "One-On-One Time."

"Oh." Adrien went even redder.

"Yeah," Luka gave him a little squeeze. "Which is also fine, in theory, but…"

"Oh…" Marinette caught on.

"Your body and your heart?" Luka nudged her gently. "They can tell the difference. They know something's missing."

"So, that's why we get sad?" Adrien asked. "Something's missing?"

"Both of you have never had One-On-One Time before." Luka looked between them again. "And I know you do want it, so… you're probably feeling really lonely."

"So…" Marinette swallowed. "So what do we do?"

"Well," Luka nuzzled her. "The loneliness will go away by itself after you find someone, but, until then…"

He turned and nuzzled Adrien, too.

"If you're feeling sad after Alone Time, ask someone for a cuddle." Luka told them. "It'll make you feel a lot better."

"Alright," Adrien affirmed.

"Yeah," Marinette nodded.

"Good. I don't want you to feel sad." Luka gave them both a big hug.

They smiled appreciatively, but one last thing was still on Marinette's mind.

"Luka…" she started fiddling with a strand of hair. "Is… is it bad that I haven't had sex yet?"

"No," Luka told her gently. "No, baby, it's not."

She made a little frown, so he touched his fingers to her cheek and drew her gaze to lock with his.

"Everyone gets there on their own time, love," Luka kissed her cheek. "When you're ready, it'll happen. Don't be too worried till then."

Marinette smiled and blushed and snuggled into Luka's hold.

"And if anyone tries to force you, I will personally snap his neck." Luka nodded resolutely.

"Me too." assured Adrien.

Marinette giggled and kissed both their cheeks.

"And that goes for you, too, sunshine." Luka smiled at Adrien, flicking a finger under his chin affectionately. "You'll get there when you get there, and I'll murder anyone who tries to force you."

"We'll _both_ murder anyone who tries to force you," Marinette gently corrected.

"Th-thanks," Adrien went pink and rested his head on Luka's shoulder.

Marinette reached over and made the hug an awkwardly positioned three-way embrace.

Luka kissed both their foreheads, and they stayed there until Marinette got up to make lunch.

===

Halfway through lunch, Luka was called in for work.

It was a lengthy and altogether boring session, but at least he got to see Nino, which was nice.

When he got back in the door, neither Marinette nor Adrien were on the couch.

"Luka?" Marinette's voice came from the bedroom.

Luka peeked in to find them on Adrien's side of the bed, Marinette nestled in his lap and his entire body save for the broken leg curled around her protectively. Adrien said nothing, and only really looked up in greeting.

"Oh, don't worry, this is normal." Marinette assured at Luka's confused expression. "We do this when one of us is sad."

"You guys okay?" Luka raised an eyebrow, coming over to join them.

"Well," Marinette blew a little breath. "We got a little news earlier."

"Good or bad?" Luka asked, swallowing as he sat.

"Neither? Both, maybe," Marinette cringed. "It seems that… that uh…"

Adrien screwed his eyes shut and pressed his face into Marinette's loosed hair with a little upset grumble.

"Chloe and Felix are getting married." Marinette informed.

Luka shuddered at the reminder of Chloe's existence, but then frowned as he realized the second name was unknown to him.

"Wait, weren't Chloe and Kagami…" he tried to think.

"They were!" Marinette confirmed, nodding. "They were, uh… they were…"

"Fucking." Adrien snipped. "They were fucking."

"Yeah, that," Marinette smiled nervously. "But when Chloe… when Chloe, um…"

"Ran away," Adrien supplied, almost nastily.

"… it left Kagami pretty…" Marinette grimaced.

"Heartbroken?" Adrien offered, voice muffled by her hair.

"Yeah." Marinette sighed, reaching up to touch her fingers to Adrien's face.

Luka gave a questioning look to Adrien, dubious about all the interrupting he was doing.

"Oh, don't worry, this is normal," Marinette assured quickly, giving a little wave. "How do you think I manage to talk to my professors?"

Luka gave an understanding nod. 

"Okay, so, wait," he frowned again. "Who the fuck is Felix?"

"Adrien's brother." Marinette informed, and Adrien seemed to tighten his hold on her.

"I feel like I should have known if you had a brother…" Luka felt a little guilty.

"Don't worry," Marinette encouraged. "Almost nobody's met him."

"I forget he exists most of the time." Adrien sighed and shrugged. "Probably for the better."

"Wh… why?" Luka asked, almost afraid.

"Felix is…" Marinette cringed, clearly uncomfortable. "He's… well, he's, uh…"

"You can say it, Mari," Adrien huffed. "He's an asshole."

"I just didn't want to be mean," she reached up again to scritch in his hair.

"He wasn't very nice to _you_ ," Adrien countered.

"What? What'd he do?" Luka asked.

"Gabriel threw a big ball for Adrien's eighteenth," Marinette pouted a little. "And Felix called my dress 'uninspired'."

"You were just scared of not meeting the dress code!" Adrien defended. "And you looked _beautiful_ anyway, so I don't know what his problem was!"

Marinette flinched at the raised voice, which put Luka on edge, but she thanked Adrien quietly and Adrien nuzzled her again and Luka relaxed a little.

"Yeah, Felix is…" Marinette cleared her throat. "Not exactly a nice man."

"He's _cold_." Adrien raised his eyes to the window. "He's _cold_ and _smart_. He's the perfect businessman, and if he didn't look like my mother, you'd think he was an exact clone of Gabriel."

Marinette seemed to have no input here, and Adrien went on.

"All my life it was ' _Felix never went to **school**_ ,' ' _Felix never **ran away**_ ,'" Adrien snapped. "' _Felix never hung out with **poor people**_ ,' ' _Felix didn't do this, why can't you be more like **Felix**?_ "

Marinette was getting nervous trapped in Adrien's grasp, and Luka had believed Adrien to be harmless up until now, but he also knew anger could make people make mistakes. He started to worry again, wondering if he should prepare to wrestle Marinette free if Adrien got too agitated.

"Felix was _so_ perfect," Adrien growled. "That for his fifteenth birthday father gave him an _entire company_ to run in America."

"Wait, so, how old's Felix, then?" Luka asked, hoping the question would put Adrien on a calmer track and eyeing the grip his muscular arms had on their little roommate.

"He was sixteen when I was ten," Adrien frowned quickly, doing some math in his head. "So he'd be twenty-five now."

"But Chloe's your age," Luka's brow furrowed. "Isn't he a little old for her?"

"Age gaps in rich-people marriages aren't uncommon," Marinette piped up. "Gabriel was forty and Emilie was twenty when they got married."

Luka's face contorted into an expression of deep discomfort and borderline disgust.

"Yeah," Marinette laughed nervously. "The more I learn, the less I wanna be like Gabriel Agreste."

"You're nothing like him." Adrien assured, but it came out too stern.

Marinette swallowed.

"So, wait, Adrien," Luka shook his head. "If both of these people are shit to you, why are you upset?"

"Because…" Adrien closed his eyes and gritted his teeth and Luka began to wish he'd coaxed Marinette out of Adrien's grasp before asking. "Chloe's going back to being _stupid_. She's only marrying Felix cause he looks like me!"

Luka did a double take faster than Adrien's freakish sleep reflexes, but only came closer in case he'd have to free the clearly anxious Marinette with force.

"He's just me, but older and richer!" Adrien scowled. "And _mean_!"

Luka and Marinette were now both squarely in the 'afraid' zone.

"And she was doing so _well_!" Adrien burst out, rambling angrily now. "She was spending time with her mother, she was seeing Kagami, she was donating money to causes Ladybug suggested, _she was doing **so well**_!"

Marinette flinched again, and Luka began to panic.

"And then her dad died, and she just…" Adrien squeezed Marinette tighter. "She just _**ran away**_!"

Luka swallowed, readying to wrangle Marinette out, terrified of the consequences of interfering with Adrien's outburst but even more scared that she might get hurt.

"She ran away from _Paris_ ," Adrien growled. "She ran away from _Kagami_ , and she ran away from _**me**_!"

Adrien then seemed to freeze up, the look on his face falling to one of surprise and distress rather than anger and pain.

It seemed he hadn't expected to say that.

Luka and Marinette both stayed stock still, still a little scared, but the realization hit them shortly after it hit Adrien.

"Adrien…" Marinette choked out. "You're squeezing too tight…"

"Oh, god," Adrien uncurled his arms and her breathing picked up. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Mari…"

"It's alright," she smiled weakly, panting a little.

Luka reached out to her and she grabbed his hand with hers to reassure, putting her other to her lightly heaving chest. He was still tempted to steal her into his own arms until he knew she was safe, but resisted, since Adrien seemed to have calmed down now.

"I didn't hurt you… did I?" Adrien whispered, voice weak.

"No, no," Marinette shook her head. "It's okay, Adrien. I'm okay."

She moved a little out from his chest and gave him a very light kiss to the cheek and a weak smile.

Luka's heart eased at the gentle exchange.

Adrien didn't look too at ease, though.

"Hey, sunshine?" Luka scooched closer still.

Adrien's green eyes looked to him.

"I don't care about these assholes," Luka told him frankly. "They don’t matter."

Adrien seemed surprised at this.

"Because they hurt you." Luka said, putting his hand on Adrien's arm. "But they're gone now, and they can't hurt you anymore, so they don't matter. And if they're really as bad as you guys say, maybe they deserve each other."

Adrien looked away, clearly still a little hurt.

"But we're right here." Luka put his hands on Adrien's criminally squishy cheeks to his eye contact. "We're right here, and we love you, and we're not going anywhere."

Adrien blinked, and after a moment, went red in the face. Luka's cheeks warmed in a mirror reaction and he lowered his hands.

"It's true," Marinette said softly, bomping her forehead lightly to Adrien's jaw to draw his attention. "We love you."

Adrien looked between them, made a little noise in the back of his throat and tried to hide his face in his hands.

"Aw, sunshine, no," Luka laughed half-heartedly. "C'mere."

He pulled his roommate into an awkwardly-angled hug and nuzzled his forehead.

"I love you guys, too..." Adrien said, muffled by his palms.

Marinette chuckled and tugged his hands away to hold them in her much smaller, much paler ones, and kissed him, and then Luka kissed his cheek for good measure.

Adrien only made a little whine and a silly smile and wrapped his big arms around them both, the latest in their continuous line of hugs that seemed only interruptible by mealtimes.

===

When Tigereye showed up for patrol that night, Luka hadn't been prepared to see Nino there.

"Tigereye!" Ladybug called brightly, waving. "C'mon over."

Tigereye obliged, walking over to the spotted red heroine and her armored green teammate.

"This is Carapace." Ladybug gestured to Nino. "He's an old team member, and he's going to be working with us for a while."

"Cool." Tigereye extended a clawed hand. "Hey."

Carapace grabbed the hand and used it to pull the substitute superhero into a tight hug.

"Carapace is a hugger," Ladybug informed.

"I can see that," Tigereye choked jovially.

"Don't mind, do you, bro?" Carapace let him go, and Luka recognized that borderline-evil teasing glint in his best friend's eyes.

"Nah," Tigereye replied, being honest and spitefully casual simultaneously.

"So," Ladybug cleared her throat. "Tonight, I'm going to put you together on the weekend route."

"Sounds good." Carapace said.

Ladybug told them that it was so she could see how well they worked together, but Luka had a feeling it was actually because she already knew they would do well and was preemptively keeping their potentially distracting chumminess out of her way.

After they'd split up and he and Luka had reached a reasonable enough distance from Ladybug, Nino began to relax.

"Alright," he sat Tigereye down on a rooftop. "You still got questions?"

"Yeah, a few." Luka replied, a little nervous.

"Then ask away, bro."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehehehehehe dont worry we will see the convo between nino and luka this chapter was jsut getting Far Too Long
> 
> anyway lmao look at these dumb babies telling each other they love each other and not realising they should be dating
> 
> see you sooooon


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so a quick warning: there is a mention of a hypothetical hostage situation and a knife being used to threaten, so as usual, take a breath or click away if u need
> 
> also theres not one but two whole instances of people Almost getting down and dirty but like honestly what do yall expect by this point

"So," Tigereye frowned at the street below. "You said there were more than five miraculouses. How many are there, then?"

"Nineteen." Carapace replied.

" _Nineteen_?" the black cat hissed, turning to him in surprise.

"Yes." the turtle nodded patiently.

"So, like," Luka's head seemed to want to spin at this fact. "There could be nineteen whole people running around with miraculouses?"

"Well, no," Nino scratched at his cheek. "Nineteen is way too many to keep track of, even nowadays, and we have most of them locked up at the moment anyway."

"Why?" Tigereye leapt up onto a chimney stack.

"Well, they’ve been floating around the planet for like a million years," Carapace grunted a little as he pulled himself up to the same platform. "And the guardians decided it was time to stop them from doing that."

"Why?" Tigereye repeated.

"That’s one of the things I can't tell you," Carapace informed. "But, this time it's cause I don't know myself."

"Alright." Tigereye tumble rolled onto the next roof, waiting for his partner to follow. "So, how long have they actually been around for?"

"Like an actual number?" Carapace gave it a little thought. "I think it's, like, fifty-thousand years."

Luka almost doubled over.

"They've been here _that long_?"

"Well, not _here_ here," Carapace took a walk around the perimeter of the roof. "I mean, yeah, they've been in France a couple times. Joan of Arc was a Ladybug. But like I said, they've been everywhere."

"Everywhere." Tigereye repeated dumbly.

"Everywhere." the green hero nodded. "Korea, Namibia, both the Americas, Egypt. They started in China. They've been all over the globe, dude."

The black cat holder shook his head weakly and kept on their path.

"So if they've been everywhere else," he asked suddenly. "Why are they here?"

"Miraculouses are used to give people powers," Carapace frowned, talking as if Luka was supposed to know this. "Sometimes the people that need them are in different places?"

"No, I know _that_ ," Tigereye blurted. "I mean why are they here? In Paris?"

"Ohhh," the turtle realized. "Right, yeah, sorry, no, they’re here because Papillon is."

"Isn't… isn't keeping them away from him, like… our number one priority?" Tigereye's shoulders fell and he cocked his head in confusion. "Why have all nineteen here in Paris?"

"I dunno, man." Carapace shrugged again. "All I know is the Guardian wants them all in that box, and the only ones that aren't in there and still need to be are the Butterfly and the Peacock."

"What about ours?" Luka questioned.

"We need 'em, at least till Papillon and Mayura are defeated." Nino informed. "But after we rescue Nooroo and Duusu, I don't know if we'll have to give ours back, too."

Despite the fact that they hardly got along and it had only been two weeks since they'd met, Luka couldn't imagine what daily life would be like without Plagg, and then realized Adrien would be hurt an awful lot more by that than he would be, and got a little sad about it.

Adrien had had a pretty awful day already.

Luka decided he would give Adrien a big hug when he got home.

He watched as Carapace jumped up to a higher building and offered a helping hand.

Tigereye smiled and leapt up to grab it, accepting the unnecessary but meaningful gesture. It brought their faces close and Luka's heart skipped several beats until he swung his leg over the ledge and his shelled partner went to sit down.

Curious, Tigereye joined him.

"This is my favourite roof." Carapace took a deep breath of the cool air. "If it wouldn't give me away, I'd do so much shooting from up here."

"It's a good position, huh?" Luka nodded. "You could take some fantastic photos."

"I wanna be here forever, especially at night." Nino sighed. "Ever seen Ladybug or Chat framed by the lights at just the right angle?"

Tigereye shook his head, taking in the scenery.

"Fuckin' magical." Carapace murmured. "They're such beautiful people. I mean, yeah, they're attractive all the time, even in fights, but seeing Ladybug sitting all cute on a chimney pipe? Lethal."

Luka tried to conjure that image in his head, but all he could really picture given the prompt was Marinette sitting atop a chimney stack in her workout gear.

"What's up with you and Ladybug, anyway?" Tigereye pondered aloud. "Are you… together?"

"Nooooo, no, no, no, nope." Carapace shook his head emphatically. "Absolutely not."

Luka felt like that was a pretty harsh denial.

"Dating as heroes is completely off the table. Bad. No. No way." Nino said decisively. "And I technically don't know who she is as a civilian, so even if she was willing to…"

Luka didn't have time to articulate the questions those words had left in his brain.

"Look, I love her, I love her a lot," Carapace admitted. "But it's… it's complicated. And with the miraculous bullshit… and my last partner… and… and everything with Chat Noir, and you, and _this_ …"

He shrugged weakly.

"No. Ladybug and I aren't like that."

He said it firmly, but his expression was decidedly down on the subject. Tigereye nudged him gently in comforting.

"Another question, then." Luka offered. "Chat Noir acts like a real cat sometimes. Do you have any idea why?"

"If you mean the clinginess and insane amount of touching, then he's always been like that." Nino huffed. "That boy needs a lot of love."

"I was thinking more like… the sounds." Tigereye cleared his throat. "He makes, uh… little sounds… sometimes…"

Carapace gave a tauntingly suspicious look.

"Dude!" Luka went pink in the cheeks. "I- You- _Please!_ "

Nino laughed.

"C'mon," Tigereye pouted. "You know what I mean!"

Carapace just kept chuckling.

"Surely he's made them with you!" Luka gestured, offended.

"He has, he has, I just…" Nino shook his head. "Nothing. Yeah, those are from Plagg."

Luka frowned into the distance, confused.

"Ladybug showed you the newspaper thing?" Carapace asked.

Tigereye nodded.

"Same deal." Nino shuffled. "Except instead of focusing on the ink bit, focus on the water."

Luka tried to figure that out in his head, but had no luck, and it must have showed.

"Okay, alright," Carapace smiled and shook his head. "Chat had trouble with it, too, it's okay."

He turned a little, and looked right at Luka, and Tigereye blushed again when he met his eyes.

Luka had fallen in love with Nino about two years ago, and since then being close to him would forever put Luka at risk of getting flustered. Luka wasn't pursuing Nino in any capacity, given all that Nino had been going through recently, but he'd always love him too much to remain unaffected in his presence.

"So, look, you know miraculouses run on magic, right?" Nino checked.

Luka nodded.

"Well magic is just energy." Carapace shrugged. "Just really powerful energy. And you have energy too."

Tigereye only blinked his big blue cat eyes at him.

"Your soul, or spirit, or whatever." Nino gestured. "That's your energy, and it's one of a kind, only you have it."

"But?" Luka raised an eyebrow.

"But," the turtle hero nodded. "Like with the newspaper, the more water you put on it, the soggier it gets. The longer you have a kwami, the more their energy starts to mix with yours."

"So, what you're saying is," the black cat squinted in confused reply. "Is that A- _Chat_ is like a cat because he's getting magical cat radiation from Plagg."

" _Has_ been getting magical cat radiation." Carapace corrected. "For almost six years. And Ladybug's been getting magic bug radiation."

"So… what, are you getting magical turtle radiation from your kwami?" Tigereye looked him up and down.

"Yeah, but not nearly as much as Ladybug and Chat." Nino shook his head. "I only got my miraculous _permanently_ a little while ago. I've got maybe two years of magic radiation all up."

"And they've got six." Luka thought aloud, and after a moment, shook his head. "Whoa."

"It's all pretty wack, yeah." Carapace nodded. "So, hey, now that you mention Chat, how are things back at the den?"

Tigereye immediately turned on him and squinted suspiciously.

"Thought we weren't supposed to talk about that?"

"I'm a curious dude," Nino shrugged. "And I need to see how good you are at holding superhero convos."

"Well…" Luka shook his head, thinking about how he could code his information. "Sugarbuns moved in yesterday, for keeps, so that was good."

"'Sugarbuns'?" Carapace whispered, twitching in something like incredulous joy, turning to Tigereye with an amused gape.

"Yeah, Sugarbuns." Tigereye huffed. "Got a problem with her?"

"You know I don’t," Nino replied brightly, enjoying the direction this had taken. "So she's in with you guys forever now?"

"I sure as fuck hope so," Luka said. "I can't imagine life without her."

"You've lived this long without her," Carapace poked him.

"Like you wouldn't wanna keep her forever if she came to stay with you," Tigereye accused playfully.

"Can't argue with that," Nino conceded.

"But yeah, she's gonna stay." Luka smiled dreamily, pulling up his knees to rest his elbows on them. "At least until Kitten gets back on his feet, but hopefully forever."

" _Kitten_." Carapace grinned. "You call him _kitten_."

"Shut up." Tigereye blushed. "It just happened."

"Oh, is he _your_ kitten now?" Nino teased. "I think Ladybug might have a few things to say about that."

"Well then she's free to say 'em to me!" Luka played along.

"Nah, for real," the turtle nudged him, tone softer and more genuine. "Are you dating him?"

The black cat pondered this. He changed his position on the rooftop and took a breath.

"I honestly don’t know." Tigereye admitted. "All three of us, we're all kissing and cuddling and touching, and the other night we all said we loved each other, but are we dating? I don't know."

"Well, I hope you start soon." Carapace shifted.

"I mean, it'd be pretty dumb if we all just sat around the den acting like we weren't all in love with each other." Luka shook his head.

"So you finally admit it out loud." Nino grinned smugly.

"What?" the cat turned.

"That you're in love with Sugarbuns." the turtle replied.

"The fact that I'm in love with Kitten doesn't surprise you more?!" Tigereye turned on him, almost offended.

"Sure, but Kitten was a surprise for you, too." Carapace nudged him. "I can get way more mileage out of teasing you for Sugarbuns. It's been three years, my dude. High fuckin' time you admit it."

"I never exactly denied it." Luka defended.

"Yeah, but your dumb 'never say it out loud' complex is _finally_ dead, and that’s a funeral I'll fuckin' celebrate." Nino goaded. "Think she knows just how long you’ve been dying to have her yet?"

"If she doesn't, she's as blind as Kitten is with you," Tigereye dared.

Carapace _gaped_. "Low blow!"

"Oh, well, am I wrong?" Luka asked, playing innocent.

"Well, if you're kissing him, you're further than I ever got." Nino sighed grumpily.

"Aww, is Shelly _jealous_?" Tigereye pouted dramatically and wagged his shoulders in teasing.

"Yeah, look at me, I'm just totally fucking green right now, it's awful." Carapace snipped dryly.

"C'mon, buddy," Luka softened and leant into Nino's space. "You know I'd back off for you if you wanted me to."

"You wouldn't wanna share him with me like you two are sharing Sugarbuns?"

The words, sounding simultaneously teasing and genuine, struck Luka deep.

"Is… is that something _you'd_ want?" was his very quiet reply.

Carapace seemed to think for a moment.

A beep sounded from the shell on his back, and the note hurt Tigereye's sensitive ears. He clapped his hands to his head and made an involuntary whimper.

Nino reached out to close Luka in a half hug while he pulled the shield around and looked at it.

[Friendly reminder that we are on a schedule!] came a recorded voice of a slightly younger-sounding Ladybug from somewhere on the shell.

"We'd better move." Carapace replaced the shield. "They get less friendly the longer you're behind."

Tigereye nodded weakly, feeling hurt from the harsh beep and flustered from the half hug. The night was cool and it was late and the day had been long and he wanted to snuggle into Nino's big warm side.

But Carapace stood up and he followed anyway.

They ran a few more blocks in a silence only broken by the odd grunt of effort or accidental hum. Luka didn't mind not speaking, but he hoped he hadn't put some kind of divide between him and his partner.

Why was romance so hard?

Luka jumped, spun from a pole and did a double flip onto all fours on the next block.

He was really beginning to consider asking Marinette if he could come on her runs.

Nino was silent, but he didn't look upset in any way.

Luka had one more question.

He padded up carefully, making sure to make noise but also to take it slowly, leaving room for opting-out on Carapace's end.

"This another good-angle roof?" Luka asked timidly.

"Yeah." Nino replied, taking a breath with the breeze. "And only five people have ever seen it."

"Am I lucky, then?" Tigereye turned up to him.

"Actually, I think you're famously _un_ -lucky, fluffy," Carapace ruffled his hair. "But you've rolled high in your saves till now."

Luka blushed from the affection.

"Why does Plagg always get the cute ones?" Nino muttered, turning.

Luka was about to ask what Nino meant by that, or maybe the question he'd already planned before then, but was instead struck with a different one. 

"How do you know all the kwamis, anyway?" Tigereye jogged after the turtle to the other side of the roof.

"Sorry, man, that's another one of the things I'm _not_ allowed to tell you." Carapace replied, peeking down into an alleyway.

"Aw." Luka pouted.

"Hey," Nino came right up to him and gave him that look that only Nino could give that made Luka's guts feel all slushy. "I know it sucks."

Nino's fingers came up and scritched under Luka's jaw and he went bright red.

"Damn, figured it would have kicked in by now…" Carapace shrugged and booped Tigereye's nose. "After the eyes…"

"What?" Luka touched his claws to his nose self-consciously. "What should have kicked in?"

"Don't worry about it." Nino shook his head.

The black cat frowned.

"You know that'll make me worry about it," he teased, elbowing his green partner.

"Then think about something else." the turtle teased in return.

"Fine," Luka huffed, pressing his head to Nino's armoured shoulder. "Last question."

"I'm all ears." Carapace crossed his arms.

"Earlier today I was reminded of the existence of Chloe Bourgeois," Tigereye told him. "Unfortunately."

"You can say that again." Nino snorted.

" _Un-for-tu-nate-ly_ ," Luka repeated smugly.

"Fuck you," the turtle grinned.

"I wish." the cat coughed and cleared his throat and continued before his companion could notice. "Listen, here's the question. Everyone knew Chloe was Queen Bee, so why's it such a big deal for me not to know who you guys are?"

Nino seemed shocked, as if he hadn't expected this question. He wrestled with it a moment, then took a breath and sighed and decided to be honest.

"Because, my dude," Carapace got close again. "The second someone knows who you are under that mask, they know all your weaknesses."

Tigereye blinked.

"And once the wrong person finds out, they'll use them against you." Nino said, very quietly. "Alya used mine against me."

Luka reached out to take his hand, and Nino accepted.

"And Chloe had hers used against her." Carapace shrugged. "Papillon used her parents to make her slip up, 'cause they were the only thing that she really gave a shit about."

Luka frowned.

"Chloe got away with letting people know her identity because she didn’t…" Nino took a deep breath. "She didn't care. In the end, nothing really mattered to Chloe."

Luka remembered _that_ about her well enough.

"Not even the people who thought _she_ mattered." Nino muttered.

Luka pressed close, wanting to comfort.

"And, yeah, if Papillon never knew her identity, Heroes' Day five years ago would have gone way different." Carapace said, half-hugging back. "But her weaknesses weren't as dangerous as yours or mine or Ladybug's."

"What would even happen?" Tigereye asked weakly.

"Wanna come home and have your roommates taken hostage for the ring?" Nino asked.

An image of Marinette held at knifepoint popping into his mind was enough to make Luka upset.

"No." he breathed.

"Then don't let anyone figure you out."

They stayed in the half-embrace for a little while longer, looking out at the sleeping city and thinking.

"You boys all done?" called the voice of Ladybug from a slight distance.

They broke apart and looked over in surprise. Their spotted red leader sat casually on the next building, watching them.

"Patrol ended five minutes ago." she informed, leaping over effortlessly.

"Better get home, then." Tigereye nodded.

"You wanna… kiss goodnight or something?" Ladybug prodded teasingly.

"Just for that, we will." Carapace sassed, reaching for his black-clad companion.

Luka would have been ashamed to say out how completely on board he was, so he didn't.

They'd never kissed each other before, but humorous spite was as good a reason as any to start.

It was deep with a lot of tongue and went maybe a little too long, and it absolutely disintegrated Luka's ability to think about anything afterwards.

"I'd tell you to get a room, but you'd do it, and I don't want to be responsible for potential homewrecking by accessory." Ladybug rolled her eyes playfully. "Anyway, I have to get home. Later, nerds."

And she disappeared into the distance.

"Thanks for playing along." Nino chuckled.

"My pleasure." Luka replied in an unintentional joke born from a currently utterly dysfunctional mind.

"Dork." Carapace hugged him and turned to go. "Love you. Later."

"Love you." Tigereye waved dumbly, and then, after an indeterminate amount of time, woke up to himself and started on his own way home.

===

Luka peeked into the spare room to find Marinette sitting in the middle of the floor.

" _What_ are you still doing up?" Luka dropped to his knees and hugged her from behind and nuzzled her soft, warm cheek. "We have a show tomorrow."

"Finishing my dress." she defended, turning to kiss him. "I grew out of the blue one."

"Aw, man," he complained, resting his head atop hers. "You looked so good in it."

"Yes, well, blame this butt that you love so much." Marinette teased, doing a little wiggle. "I've gone up two sizes in two years and the blue dress just couldn't stretch that far."

"You could have altered it," Luka bargained.

"I tried." she kept working with the fabric in her hands. "I ended up having to cut the panties thinner in the back and that's against dress regulations."

"Please tell me you at least kept it," he asked hopefully.

"I did." Marinette smiled smugly. "I'll wear it for you again soon."

Luka's thoughts threatened to run off with him. She moved and he helped her up.

"Can I see this one, then?" he asked.

"Patience, rockstar." she tisked. "Tomorrow."

"You stayed up late enough that it _is_ tomorrow, baby," Luka countered.

"Oh," Marinette blushed. "Oops."

"Yeah, 'Oops'." he teased. "C'mon, go to bed. I want you all rested for tomorrow."

"Come to bed with me?" she swayed cutely.

"You don't need to ask, baby," Luka replied.

Marinette took his hands and pulled him around to the single bed.

He blushed and wondered exactly what she was planning.

"You should sleep with Adrien or he'll get sulky," she sat back. "But just cuddle me for a bit?"

"Of course, love." he followed, pressing close.

They wrapped around one another and laid back.

"Still wearing my hoodie to bed, huh?" he smiled, nuzzling between the soft fabric and the skin of her neck.

Marinette blushed.

"I can… not wear it if…"

"No, no, baby, I love that you wear it," Luka told her, shuffling for a more comfortable position. "I'm glad you want to wear it."

She turned her face to him and smiled shyly.

"And I love seeing you in it." he added. "You look so good in it."

"You think I look good in everything." Marinette came close.

"You do," Luka smiled. "But I think you look amazing in this."

"Sure you're not biased cause it's yours?" she teased.

"What do you mean?" he chuckled. "It's yours. Like the rest of me."

"You're such a _sap_." Marinette rolled her eyes and shook her head.

But then she kissed him. And kept kissing him, making happy hums.

Luka was on cloud nine, losing himself to her like he'd always dreamed of doing. He tugged at her until she moved and he rolled her on top of him.

Some of her hair fell off her shoulder and tickled his cheek. He gave a chuckle and they broke.

Marinette raised herself a little, looking at him beneath her with half-lidded eyes and an affectionate smile. Luka braved letting his hands slide down her back and along her bare thighs.

The girl with the keys to his heart and soul made a miniature moan and took her arms from behind his head to prop herself up above him. Leaning on one hand, she brushed her hair back with the other and then stroked her fingers to his cheek.

"So rough…" she whispered.

"I'm gonna shave tomorrow." he promised quietly. "Gotta look my best for when you get on TV for blowing the judges' minds."

"You gonna kiss me on the news?" Marinette teased.

"I think it'd break half the skating world's hearts." Luka smiled.

"To think you were a taken man?" she leant down, a low look in her bright blue eyes.

"To think _you_ were a taken woman." he countered, and then she silenced him with more kisses.

She kissed him deep, tangling her fingers in his hair and shuffling on him ever-so-slightly. She craved to keep him close.

Marinette wanted to have Luka beneath her all night. She wanted to kiss him till his lips were as blue as the ends of his hair, to hold him as tight as she could without hurting him. She wanted to stroke her hands down his chest and undo his jeans and…

And by the pressure on her butt, Luka was already ahead of her with those wishes.

Marinette resisted the urge to grind against him, to crawl backwards and unzip his fly, or whisper something sexy in his ear.

Instead, she admitted more than decided, much to her own chagrin, that their little romp should end here.

"Luka…" Marinette whispered to his lips.

"Yeah…?" Luka breathed in reply.

Oh, the look on his face, one of sleepy joy, the way his hands rubbed so softly at her thighs, more appreciatively than out of desire… she wanted to beg him to stay.

"Sorry to spoil the fun, rockstar, but... we should probably stop now," she pouted.

"I know," he sighed.

"Please don't think it's cause I want to…" Marinette kissed his scruffy cheek. "I want you to stay, I swear, but…"

"Relax, love," Luka trailed his hands back up to her waist and hugged her. "It's not the right time, I know."

She smiled down at him again.

"Can't have your legs weak tomorrow, after all." he smirked.

Marinette rolled her eyes.

"No, what am I saying," Luka sighed happily and smiled and rolled his head back. "You'd knock 'em all out even if you couldn't walk straight."

"Funny you think I can do anything straight." she poked her tongue out.

He chuckled. She loved his laugh. She fingered the design on his shirt, feeling the soft cotton and smooth decal.

"Baby girl," he beckoned quietly.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I can't leave until you get off me." Luka smiled pointedly.

"OH! Right, sorry…" Marinette fell to the side of his hips and manoeuvred her leg away.

He sat up slowly and reached for her face to stroke her cheek with his fingers.

"Goodnight, Ma-Ma-Marinette." he whispered.

She brushed her parted lips to his in a light kiss.

"Sweet dreams, rockstar." Marinette whispered back.

"They will be," Luka pressed his forehead to hers. "They'll probably be about you."

She blushed and he smiled and kissed her cheek and stood up to go.

"Sleep well, baby girl," he said from the door, giving her one last glance.

"I'll try," she murmured to herself as she settled into the sheets. "But it might be hard without you."

And it was.

===

"Kitten."

Adrien grumbled and shifted, just slightly.

"Kiiiiitten," Luka beckoned again, lightly tickling Adrien's cheek.

"Mmwhat," the snoozing boy mumbled.

"I wanted to give you a hug." Luka whispered.

"Why?" Adrien rolled over a bit.

"Cause I wanna." Luka said. "But I don’t have to."

"No, give me the hug." the blond grumbled and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I want the hug."

Luka smiled and wrapped himself around Adrien. He was big and warm and solid and Luka felt much happier for hugging him.

But Adrien seemed even more enriched for it, giving a little hum of joy and snuggling into Luka's shoulder.

Luka almost kissed him. He wanted to kiss Adrien a dozen times, until they were chuckling and sighing and ready to sleep again.

But Adrien yawned, clearly a few steps ahead of him, and Luka laid him down and then got undressed to join him.

===

A little after eight, Marinette peeked into the boy's room, hoping to enquire about breakfast preferences. They were already awake, sitting up and talking.

"You really don’t want to come to Marinette's performance?" Luka blinked at his bedmate.

"Luka, you know I love Marinette and wanna celebrate her accomplishments just as much as you, and I love this apartment and absolutely love living here," Adrien looked him in the eye. "But I would rather die than go up and down those stairs like this."

"Not even if you got a crutch?" Luka pressed.

"No." Adrien frowned. "I'll just hang out here. It's fine."

"What if Marinette wants you there?" Luka crossed his arms. "You gonna deny her, after everything you've put her through?"

Adrien scowled, baulking, and searched his mind for a retort.

" _Marinette_ knows that some people, however much she cares about them or wants their company," Marinette walked over to sit with them and tickle her fingers in Adrien's hair. "Have trouble getting places she'd like them to be."

Adrien leant into her, seeking comfort.

"You can stay and rest, Adrien," she smooched his cheek. "You can come watch a practice when your leg is better."

"I think you should be there." Luka huffed, then sighed. "But… there'll be video coverage and Nino will probably work his magic to make a home video for you if we ask nice."

Adrien leant into Luka instead and gave him a smug smile.

Luka sighed and rolled his eyes and uncrossed his arms to scritch Adrien's jaw affectionately.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Marinette asked, standing up.

"Bacon." Adrien and Luka answered at the same time.

"Alright, bacon it is." she smiled. "And Luka?"

"Yeah, babe?" Luka looked to her at the door.

" _Please_ wear something nice." Marinette pleaded teasingly.

"Yeah, I'll wear my unripped jeans." he grinned.

She laughed and left them.

"C'mon sunshine." Luka stretched. "Let's get you dressed and cleaned up and on that couch."

===

"Think he'll be alright on his own?" Marinette bit her lip as they headed into the rink.

"He's got the TV remote, a phone, a laptop, my old DS and a speaker set." Luka assured, opening the door for her and the big bag. "He'll be plenty distracted till we get home."

"Ah!" Phillippe exclaimed, turning to them. "Marinette! You're on soon, do you have a costume after all that?"

"Yes, sir, I sure do!" she beamed. "It's new!"

"Oh, I can't wait to see you in it, my star student!" Phillippe sighed in relief.

Luka's pocket buzzed and he picked out his phone. The Caller ID was 'D String'.

It had been a while since this number had called him.

"Dennis," Luka answered. "What's up?"

Marinette turned to him and he motioned to the phone.

She held up the bag and pointed over her shoulder to the changing rooms, and he smiled and nodded in reply.

[Wondering if you're free tomorrow night, man?] Dennis asked. [We need you for a gig.]

"Uh, yeah I should be?" Luka wandered out into the sparsely-occupied seating and walked up to his favourite watching spot. "What do you need, guitar? Bass? Vocals?"

[Just backup guitar,] Dennis replied. [It was a last minute booking and Jakob is on vacation in Venice.]

"Radhika's moving up to lead?" Luka blinked, checking around the rink.

[Yeah, we'll see how she goes.] Dennis huffed. [She's energetic enough but if she can keep focused or not is another story. I'll email you the deets.]

"Thanks. See ya later, dude." Luka hung up.

Around the rink, scatterings of people sat in wait for the performance. The judges sat along the far wall.

Marinette, the most skilled skater among the rink's current members, had been asked to perform for some people connected with the Olympics, and if she wowed them, the rink would be getting some sizeable funding from both the government and some Olympic organisations.

Luka and Marinette had been preparing for months. He wouldn't perform with her, even though she had told him she wanted him to. Luka didn't trust that if he went on with her that something wouldn't go terribly wrong.

He touched his hand to his bad rib as he put his phone away. He hated it sometimes.

But he did trust Marinette's skill. She wasn't perfect by any standard - except, of course, his own - but she was still _damn_ close.

Luka may have had a natural talent with skating, but Marinette could adapt into anything, and they had both worked hard for years, but he still thought she was better.

The lights in the rink lowered. A far gate opened and onto the unlit ice glided Marinette's silhouette.

There was no music yet, but every fibre in Luka's body stood to attention.

He wondered what her dress was going to look like.

He didn't have to wonder for long.

A spotlight opened on her, posed in the centre of the rink.

The dress was black, and covered in white and silver sparkles of various sizes in a random pattern, with a diagonal pale and deep blue cloudy stripe across her torso like a sash, the whole thing clearly modelled after the night sky. It was short and the skirt split up her left thigh. It was sleeveless and strapless, held up by a sparkly cuff around her neck.

Marinette had had her makeup on before they'd left, but she had spruced up her back bun with two ribbons - one blue and one silver.

Despite the cold atmosphere, Luka melted in his place, his head falling onto his crossed arms on the barrier he'd been leaning on.

And then the music started up, and he was a dead man.

He knew this track. Nino had made it from what may as well have been a million different classical samples; not entirely original, but not exactly anything that already existed, and Marinette had been in love with it for years.

So in love with it, apparently, that she'd been working on a routine with it for months.

And what a routine it was.

When Marinette ran along rooftops, she moved with strength and dexterity, but on ice, she moved with grace and precision. Every kick and spin and twirl and leap was full of laser-focused energy.

Luka watched, useless, hypnotized, as Marinette danced across the ice.

Luka loved skating, in part because it was the one thing he shared with Marinette that no-one else did. She shared coffee with Kagami and school with Adrien and a childhood with Nino, and anyone and everyone in Paris went for ice cream, but skating was theirs and theirs alone.

No-one else saw Marinette like this, flying through the air with such determination and passion in her eyes, like he did. No-one else caught her and spun her and danced with her like he did.

No-one had Marinette's touch, and her trust, like Luka did.

He recognized the last chunk of the song and realized her routine was coming to a close.

He didn't want it to end. He wanted to watch her forever.

Marinette ended in a leaping triple spin and struck a pose as the song's final strings chord sounded, and the entire building erupted in applause.

An announcement that Luka was all but deaf to came over the speakers, and Marinette bowed in every direction of the rink and began to skate towards him.

He opened the barrier for her and she jumped into his arms.

Luka spun them once or twice in joy, and once they were still again, blatantly wrapped around each other, Marinette pulled the ribbons out of her hair, loosing her bun, and kissed him enthusiastically.

Photographers and reporters and journalists approached, flashes flashing and microphones waving. Luka and Mariette rolled their eyes at each other and he reluctantly lowered his love to the ground so she could field all their questions.

Several minutes and many meaningless words later, Phillippe and the judges approached. After a lengthy talk with a lot of technical terms Luka never had been able to really follow, Marinette was given a card with the number of an Olympic trainer, and for a moment he was stunned, but a glance between them reminded him that she would never use it.

Finally, Marinette was free to go change.

"C'mon, rockstar," Marinette sat on a nearby seat and leant down to undo her laces. "Let's get me out of this dress."

"As you wish, baby," Luka beat her to the other skate, kneeling down and undoing it and resting his chin on her knee, a look of adoration in his eyes.

"You gonna kiss up my leg and seduce me or something?" Marinette teased.

Luka got that other, mysterious look in his eyes, and did as she'd dared.

Marinette swallowed, the attention not unwelcome in the least, but absolutely inappropriate in the middle of the rink.

"Shoo, I have to walk," she wagged her foot and he stood up and backed away dutifully.

He snatched up the skates to carry them before she could, and followed her to the change room like a lovesick puppy.

Which, in all honestly, wasn't too far from the truth.

"Did you like the dress?" Marinette tried not to let the slight insecurity show.

"You looked like an angel out there." Luka assured.

Marinette rolled her eyes.

"An angel of the night sky." he came up before her and held her by the waist. "Or maybe of death. When that spotlight came on, I died. You killed me."

"If you're dead," she pressed up against him and smiled up from his chest. "Why's your heart pounding?"

"You brought me back with that kiss." Luka reasoned, and then he leant down to whisper in her ear. "And my heart's pounding because of how you look in that dress."

"Just how I look?" Marinette teased quietly, her lips brushing the skin of his cheek.

He shuddered and a feeling of playful pride swelled in her chest.

"Just how you look in _this_ ," he replied, not losing a beat as usual. "Cause you know damn well you look good in everything, but this…"

He took a shaky breath.

"This makes me want to do to you what you're making my heart do."

Marinette went bright red.

"Too far, too far, sor-" Luka was cut off by another passionate kiss.

Marinette kissed him like she needed to drink the air from his lungs; _desperately_ , and entirely uncaring if she smudged her lipstick. Luka was incredibly responsive, tongue playing with hers, hands twitching, wanting to move but seeming not to know where to go.

Marinette knew exactly where she wanted them to go. She pushed a little against him, breaking to jump up on him again.

Luka took the cue and held her up, but a quick glance behind her had him taking a few steps, as well.

She didn't know where until she felt the cool, painted bricks against her back and, now immensely more aroused, pulled him close to kiss again.

"You know th-" Luka tried to speak between kisses. "This is a - public building - right?"

"No cameras - building too old -" Marinette panted. "Closed for show - Phillippe leaves me the k-"

She gasped mid-word. His hips had thrusted involuntarily against her, and she'd gotten a very clear picture of how Luka was feeling about this.

His face told a different story, cheeks bright red and eyes not making contact. He swallowed.

Marinette shifted up, pulling him closer and hugging him tighter. Their bodies lined up and she felt his hardness between her legs.

"Did I do that?" she asked innocently, knowing full well that she did.

"Yes, love," he breathed. "This is what you always do to me..."

Marinette rolled her hips, watching him intently, and Luka _groaned_.

"Ba-baby," he gasped for air, resting his forehead against her shoulder, hands tightly gripping the thighs locked around his waist. "P-please…"

"Please, what?" she whispered, fingers tangling in his hair.

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Luka swallowed thickly. "But we can't… we can't do this here."

Marinette wanted to. She ached for him. And Adrien, too. She craved their touch, their kisses. Since she'd moved in for keeps she had thought of nothing but taking them both to bed and taking off her clothes and giving them free reign of her body.

She wanted them.

She wanted Luka.

"It's not that I don't want you," Luka's voice was soft but it interrupted her thoughts. "I want you _so_ bad, baby girl, you're all I've wanted for years, I promise I want you, I swear…"

Marinette bit her lip and hugged him tight.

"But not here," he kissed her cheek. "Not now."

"Yeah," she sighed. "It was a bad idea, huh?"

"We just got carried away," Luka nuzzled her. "It happens. But at least we stopped before we got too far."

"I don't wanna stop." Marinette mumbled, mood deflating.

"Me neither," he whispered in her ear. "I just want to pull those black panties aside and go to town on you till you're screaming so loud Phillippe has nightmares."

The idea made her gut burn.

"But your first time shouldn't be in a changing room, baby girl," Luka kissed her. "It should at least be in a bed, all snuggled up together and whispering and kissing till you're both ready."

"That… does sound nice…" she blushed.

"That, and…" he shook his head. "Don't take _this_ the wrong way either, but… Adrien."

Marinette hadn’t thought about how this would affect Adrien.

"It's not that I love him more, I don't, I love you both so fucking much," Luka took a breath. "But if we did this now, I don't think he would ever get over it, and he wouldn't even say anything."

"You're right." Marinette sighed. "He'd just bottle it up and get sad."

"And we can't have that." he bomped his forehead to hers.

"No we cannot." she agreed.

"But I promise that doesn't mean we can't ha… have…" Luka swallowed, choking on the word.

"Mm, I know, rockstar," Marinette whispered, a solemn expression falling onto her face and her fingers playing with his hair idly. "But it _does_ mean that for our first time, we should probably have a threesome."

Luka gulped and tried to fend off the wonderful and torturous thoughts that flooded his mind, in no way helped by the matter-of-fact way that she'd said it.

He pushed them down and made himself focus.

"Let's get you changed," he sighed and kissed her cheek. "And get outta here before someone starts thinking we did things we didn't."

She kissed him one more time and, together, they moved to lower her to the ground.

Marinette changed and packed her bag and informed Luka that he could take his hands off his eyes by moving them with her own and kissing them, and then him.

Nervously, they linked hands and walked out of the rink with barely a wave goodbye from Phillippe.

"You alright?" Luka asked her, cheeks still flushed.

"Yeah," she replied, giving him a smile. "Listen, I need to go visit someone before my shift at the bakery, but I'll be home soon, okay?"

"Yeah, baby." he took the bag and put it in the back of the van. "I'll go back and check on Adrien."

"Thank you," Marinette hugged him. "See you soon."

"Buh-bye, Ma-Ma-Marinette," Luka kissed her forehead. "See you soon."

And then she started walking, and once she was out of sight, he got into the van and thumped his head on the steering wheel as self-punishment for the boner that still hadn't gone away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
> 
> dont worry if luka and mari seem ahead of the curve with the whole getting sexy thing, all of these kids are getting much closer to finally getting together :3c
> 
> and the answer is yes. they will be gettin it on, but not as soon as they or any of us would like them to.
> 
> a note about lukas little though process about marinettes skating - its true, hes not actually the only one who knows her that way, adrien/chat knows that side of marinette, but as ladybug, so it kind of true and false at the same time. aint that neat
> 
> also there have been Several Clues to lukas long time crush on nino so i dont want to hear any of yall telling me that was out of the blue
> 
> tune in next time for more lore, some lukadrien fun times, and more got damn slow burning


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so some warnings: in this chapter are a) discussions of dying of old age, b) the loss of a limb in an intense nightmare, c) a conversation about triggers
> 
> as always take a moment or click away, i want u to be safe

_Knock, knock._

"Who is it?" Nino called, setting down the little tray of tea next to the armchair.

"The akuma police." came the very distinct voice of Ladybug.

Nino sighed.

"Just a minute!" he shook his head. "Guess I gotta go hide in my room, now, huh?"

"Yes," Fu smiled form the armchair that was almost comically too big for him.

"This is dumb." Nino shrugged grumpily. "I know who she is."

"Have you seen me detransforming with your own two eyes?" asked Ladybug from beyond the door.

"No." Nino pouted.

"Then no hunch, no matter how well backed-up, can be true, Captain Turtle." she teased gently.

"Yeah, yeah," Nino shook his head and stepped into the apartment hall. "See you later, Ladydude."

"Come in," Master Fu beckoned.

Marinette opened the door and closed it behind her.

"How are you feeling, Master?" she asked, coming to sit beside his big armchair.

"No worse than when you last visited." Fu assured, patting her hand.

Tikki emerged from Marinette's purse to hug the old man and sit on the tea tray.

"His cough is getting worse," Nino announced from his bedroom.

Marinette gave her teacher a pointed look.

Fu only chuckled.

"Nino is a good student." he smiled. "But sometimes I do not understand him."

"He's worried about you," Marinette told him. "We both are."

"Yes, but we knew this would happen." Fu nodded matter-of-factly. "We have had the time to prepare."

"Nino and I haven't quite had as long as you have," she squeezed his hand. "It still hurts for us."

"Damn right it does!" Nino added in the distance.

Both the people in the lounge smiled about it.

"You are strong, and so is the new Guardian." Fu told her. "You will be fine."

"You're passing the title already?" Marinette blinked, lowering her voice.

"That was what I called you here for," the old man said softly. "I am taking Nino to the old temple to perform the proper ceremony before I am too weak to do so."

"When?" Marinette looked in the direction of Nino's room.

"Before the coming week has passed." Fu replied. "But he will come back to you within the week, Marinette."

"Will you?" she asked him.

Master Fu reached over for his tea, and Marinette marvelled at how he had shrunk even more in the last six years than when she had first met him.

"I cannot say." he said solemnly, taking a sip. "I may have ten years, I may have ten days."

"If it were up to me, you'd have a hundred more years." Marinette pouted.

Fu smiled, almost sadly.

"I do hope I see you again, Ladybug." he said quietly. "You are perhaps the greatest hero I have ever made."

"Master," she scolded gently. "Nino is right there."

"It was you who made Carapace the hero he is, not me." Fu reminded.

"You were both instrumental in making me who I am today," Nino called out to them.

Marinette giggled and the old man in the enormous armchair joined her.

"I'm gonna go see him," she sighed and beckoned Tikki to transform her.

Ladybug walked into the hall and knocked on Nino's door.

"Yeah," Nino answered.

She opened the door, and the sound of slow-tempo hip hop graced her ears. Marinette walked over to where he sat on his mattress on the floor, and put her hands over his eyes and hugged from behind.

"I saw the gloves," Nino reached up and put his hands on her wrists. "This is entirely unnecessary."

"I know." Ladybug smiled. "It's just fun."

Nino pulled her hands down and put his head back to look up at her.

"Are you ready?" she asked gently.

"Honestly? No." he replied, sighing. "But I might never be, so now's as good a time as ever."

"You're gonna do fine." Ladybug assured, giving him a light squeeze. "I know you can do it. I believe in you."

"If you didn't, why'd you bring me here in the first place?" Nino half-laughed.

She poked her tongue out at him and he did the same.

"Oh, these are for you." Nino handed her a jar from beside the head of his bed. "You know what to do with them."

Inside were some colorful glowing vials, the potions for special transformations. She smiled.

"I'll deliver Tigereye's soon." he added.

"Thank you, Nino." Ladybug whispered.

"No big deal. It's only, like, my life now." he huffed.

She giggled and he smiled.

"I know it's you, you know." he said softly.

"I know," Marinette whispered. "But you know how it is."

"I know." Nino closed his eyes.

"Hey," she pulled her hands up to hold his cheeks. "Thank you for being good to Tigereye last night."

"You've been good to him, too." he gave a half smile. "I know it hasn't been easy for you."

Ladybug took a shaky breath.

"And don't worry," Nino laced his fingers with hers. "Chat's doing just fine."

"You know?" she swallowed. "For sure?"

"Yeah." he spoke quietly. "Went to see him myself."

"…Don't…" Marinette choked out.

"I won't, I won't, I know, it's alright," Nino promised.

"I know it'll happen, there've been too many close calls already," she began to shake a little. "But I…"

"I know, I know," he squeezed her hands. "And one day, you won't have to be afraid of it anymore."

"I know…" Ladybug sighed and rested her forehead on his for a moment.

"You should go to work." Nino said. "And then get home before my best friends die of starvation like the useless nerds they are."

Marinette giggled and kissed his forehead and broke away.

"Stay safe out there, Captain Turtle." she said before disappearing.

"You bet, dudette." Nino said into his empty room.

===

"Kiiiiitten," Luka called, unlocking the door. "I'm home."

"LUKA!" Adrien exclaimed excitedly, bolting upright on the couch and beaming.

"One sec, sunshine, I really gotta pee." Luka dropped the skating bag into their room and rushed down the hall.

Adrien groaned and pouted. He'd wanted one of Luka's hair ruffles.

He was feeling restless, and when Adrien got restless, he needed to be touched.

He'd been stuck on either the couch or in the bed for three weeks now, and sure, the mini-workout with Nino had given him a little outlet, but he was still full of energy and had nowhere to put it.

Usually, Ladybug or Marinette would soothe his pent-up energy with a little petting, but he couldn’t ask either of them now, for obvious reasons.

Adrien gave a little whine and laid back down on the couch, the restlessness beginning to really affect him.

He frowned and squirmed.

Plagg floated down the hallway and curled up in a tiny ball on the back of the couch.

"How ya doin, kid?" he inquired.

"I think I need pets," Adrien replied.

"Good luck with _that_ ," the kwami laughed.

"Why are you so mean?" Adrien asked himself more than the kwami.

"Maybe you're just easily offended." Plagg retorted.

Adrien got sad, and then, in the absence of anything else, the restlessness seemed to swallow him whole.

Luka emerged from the bathroom and noticed Adrien had changed position and paused to wonder why.

Adrien squirmed again, this time almost violently. _God_ was he getting sick of this couch.

"Jesus, kid, don't wriggle," Plagg grumbled. "You'll wear down the fabric."

Adrien just hissed at him.

Plagg hissed back.

"Uh," Luka looked between them, a little scared.

"Sorry," Adrien sat up and groaned and covered his face with his hands. "I'm restless."

"What do you usually do when you get restless, kitten?" Luka asked, sitting down next to him.

Adrien blushed and shrank into himself a little.

He knew how the answer would sound, but he wanted to be honest with Luka.

"I… I get Ladybug or Marinette to… to pet me."

"Marinette… _pets_ you," Luka raised an eyebrow. "Like… legit rubbing-you-with-her-hands petting?"

"Only my head and shoulders," Adrien went redder. "And only ever as Chat Noir. And she doesn't know I'm Chat, so she can't know I need them right now. That's why I haven't asked her to do it already, or I'd be getting her to pet me all day every day."

"You can't, like, pet yourself?" Luka asked.

Adrien's face was a mixture of disturbed and uncomfortable.

"Sorry," Luka looked at the floor. "That sounded less stupid in my head."

"No," Plagg, oddly, was the one to answer. "It doesn't work if you try to pet yourself, or every black cat holder would just be feeling themselves up all the time, and that's just a terrible idea all around."

"Wait, does that mean I need pets, too?" Luka frowned.

"You're still new," Plagg rolled over. "So you'd enjoy them, but they haven't become necessary for you like they have for Squirmy McWrigglies here."

Adrien grunted and arched his back against the couch, trying something, _anything_ , in the hopes it would banish the urge to be touched.

"Quit it, you're making the couch move, too." Plagg complained.

Adrien made a warning yowl and Plagg bared his tiny sharp teeth.

"Jesus, kitten, just how much like a cat do you get?" Luka swallowed, flinching a little but reaching hesitantly, unsure as to what to do.

"I purr when I'm affectionate, I growl when I'm defensive, I hiss when I'm mad," Adrien listed, borderline distraught. "I chirp when I get touched unawares, I yell and jump when something surprises me, I need warmth to sleep, and I _really need to be petted right now_!"

He whined and violently mussed his hair.

Luka thought it might help if he got closer, but he was a little scared. He didn't know exactly what Adrien needed and experimenting may lead to mistakes Luka couldn't afford to make.

He chewed his lip and lowered his hand, catching sight of the silver ring on his finger.

"Will… will I get those things?" Luka murmured.

"You get more of them the longer you wear it," Plagg informed. "Right now, you'll probably purr if you feel affectionate and need warm places to sleep."

"For… what, for forever?" Luka asked the black creature.

"Well, usually the purring is irreversible, since you…" Plagg stopped mid-sentence. "Y'know what, no, I'm not explaining that. You're gonna purr forever, so be careful who you purr to."

Adrien let out another whine and twisted himself to drape over the arm of the couch.

"Stupid fucking leg," he mumbled in frustration. "God, I miss Mari's balcony."

Luka saw Adrien's desperation and felt the need to help, so he took a breath and chanced it. He brushed his fingers lightly up Adrien's spine and watched his entire body twitch. Adrien chirped in surprise.

"Sorry, was that not okay?" Luka snatched his hand close to his chest.

"No, that was…" Adrien turned to him. "Try again?"

Luka slowly reached over and brushed his fingers against Adrien's shoulder. Adrien shivered and went a little pink.

"Bad?" Luka swallowed.

"No… good." Adrien whispered. "Can… can you…"

Luka just nodded and slowly trailed his hand along Adrien's shoulder towards his neck. Adrien leant into his palm.

Both boys were red, but neither dared stop. Luka found himself shuffling to get a better reach at Adrien's head.

"Your hair is really soft," Luka whispered, running his fingers along the blond man's scalp.

Adrien, eyes closed, opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but the only thing that escaped was a heavy breath. He closed his mouth again and made a muffled noise.

Whatever Luka had thought he was getting himself into when he tried petting Adrien, he had definitely not expected the bigger boy to try to cuddle up to him.

He… _almost_ didn't mind it. Of course, they had cuddled before, but not in this position, nor this particular context. That, and, Adrien was a little heavy, and his body was putting pressure on a particular place that Luka was really conflicted as to whether he was okay with right now.

Because Luka would practically jump at the chance to engage in sexual activities with Adrien, but he had no idea how Adrien felt about that, and it was probably not the best time to risk finding out.

"Can you…" Luka squeaked, cleared his throat and tried again. "Can you move down a little?"

Adrien wriggled down and his head rested on Luka's chest.

"This okay?" he asked, voice extremely breathy.

Luka only trusted himself to hum in affirmation as his fingers stroked along his roommate's skin, through the soft hair, down his neck, even venturing across his shoulders.

Eventually, Luka untensed, finding himself comfortable with the things that were happening currently, and began to experiment.

He drew his finger in a curve, from the edge of Adrien's hairline down past his ear, and brushed it along his jaw. Adrien responded by quivering and taking in a heavy, shaky breath.

"D-do you want me to stop?" Luka whispered, freezing momentarily.

Adrien kind of just looked at him, dumbstruck. Green eyes wide, mouth slightly open, all he did was shake his head.

Luka, absolutely flustered, tickled the same finger under Adrien's chin. Adrien's eyelids fluttered and he began to _purr_.

Both of them stared. Adrien kept purring. Luka was bright red and the man in his lap wasn't far off.

Then the purring stuttered, and Luka, entirely unsure as to why, realized he didn't want it to stop. He tickled lightly again and the purring came back at full force.

Adrien's eyes softly closed. Luka let his hands run back over Adrien's scalp and neck. The blond gave a crooked smile, and Luka mirrored it involuntarily.

And then he started to purr as well.

"Fuck, that feels weird," Luka whispered, noting with more than a little alarm the rumbling in the depths of his chest.

Adrien nuzzled into his shirt and the vibrations of his cuddler's purr hit his stomach. It made Luka shudder and made the feeling in his gut even more intense.

"Sorry," Adrien started, immediately lifting himself off of Luka in a sort of impromptu push-up. "Sorry, I…"

"No," Luka swallowed, his hands still resting on Adrien's shoulders. "I'm… that was, uh… that wasn't bad."

A knock sounded from the door.

"I'm home, are you guys decent?" Marinette called.

Adrien, moving at a speed that really shouldn't have been possible considering his broken leg, managed to completely reposition himself on his side of the couch as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah, c'mon in." Luka called, unable to look away from Adrien's face as he hid the only evidence of their previous activities with a strategic positioning of his arms.

Plagg zipped behind Luka's head as the door unlatched.

"Oh, jeez," Marinette stepped into the apartment. "It's really hot in here."

Then her eyes landed on the two roommates on the couch.

"Whoa, are you guys okay?" she hurried over and pressed the back of her hand gently to Luka's forehead, a worried look on her face. "Oh, god."

Luka stared at Marinette, brain absolutely not functioning right now, as she checked Adrien's forehead too.

"Hang on," she held up a finger. "I picked us up something to help with the heat."

Marinette dragged over an industrial-strength fan.

Luka's face lit up.

"I've needed one of those forever," he smiled. "You're the best, Marinette."

Marinette giggled softly and plugged it into the wall. It turned on and delivered a rush of cold air into the boys' faces. Adrien leant forward into the jet stream, eyes closed and enjoying the way it threw his hair backwards.

"I also bought food," their blue-eyed girl unpacked some miscellaneous items from the paper bag she'd brought in. "Do you guys want stir fry or lasagne?"

"Stir fry, please," Adrien said, not opening his eyes. "I need some protein."

Luka made a noise that he hoped would pass as an agreement. He wasn't quite out of the '???????' state his mind was in with the purring and such, and he definitely wasn't out of the physical state it had put him in either.

He got up and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face.

He stared at the ring all through dinner, and his cold shower, and bedtime.

"You okay?" Adrien asked as Luka helped him into the bed.

"Muh," Luka replied, and then put a hand to his face. "Uh."

He flopped down onto the mattress, wrangling away his shirt.

"You don't have to tell me," Adrien smiled reassuringly.

"No," Luka felt very warm again and looked away. "Just… thinking about earlier."

"Did… did I do something wrong?" Adrien asked quietly.

"No, no, sunshine, you didn't, I promise," Luka shook his head quickly, which made the pillow shuffle. "I guess I just, uh, don't really understand it."

"That's okay," Adrien sighed. "I don't think I do either."

Luka looked at his roommate with curiosity.

"I've been able to purr for six years, and I really don't know why it happens or if it can stop." the blond mused.

That hadn't been what Luka had been referring to, but he didn't dare bring _that_ subject up right now, lest it bring something _else_ up that he didn't need to be up right now.

"All I know is being petted feels good, and Marinette likes it when I purr for her."

 _Maybe Marinette would like it if I purred for her, too_ , Luka thought, but then he realised that that would just raise questions.

The whole purring thing was still a little confusing.

"Maybe that's all that matters." Adrien shrugged and his cast shifted a bit. "That I like it, and that she does too."

"Hmm…" Luka pushed his fingers through his bangs.

"Your purr sounded… uh…" Adrien stuttered. "Y-your purring was deeper than mine. It… it sounded cool."

Luka looked over at him again.

"I…" Adrien cleared his throat. "I liked it."

"I like your purr, too, kitten." Luka whispered fondly.

Adrien made that dorky, crooked smile again, the one that was increasingly endangering Luka's heart with its existence, and the blue-eyed man felt an urge he'd never felt before.

Luka took a steady breath and reached up to brush a finger along Adrien's jaw again. His stunning green eyes fluttered shut.

"This okay?" Luka whispered.

"Yeah..." Adrien breathed.

And then Luka was on his side, scritching around in Adrien's hair, and Adrien was on his side, wrapping his arms around Luka's middle.

And they purred to each other.

They didn't understand it, but maybe they didn't have to.

It wasn't like Plagg would explain it to them, either.

This was just how things were now, apparently, and... maybe, they decided, it was kinda cool anyway.

===

Adrien walked down the pathway, watching his feet. Ahead of him were three other pairs of feet, one in black canvas shoes with blue lightning bolts on them, one in pink slip-ons, and one in black boots with green laces. He looked up, and they all looked back to smile at him as they walked. Marinette and Luka walked side by side, at the front, and behind them but in front of Adrien, was Nino.

He looked further up, past the familiar cityscape, into the sky, and felt it was strange that there was no sun.

Then he fell on his face.

Adrien sat up as quickly as he could, only to watch his left leg turn black from the knee down and crumble to dust, as if he'd touched it with Cataclysm.

His heart hammered into overdrive and he watched as the blackness spread like poison from where he sat, leaking across the ground, running like a river of ink over the city around him in every direction.

And then the entire city broke and buckled and crumbled to the earth, leaving nothing but an empty ashen wasteland.

Adrien looked to his loved ones before him, reaching out to them from the ground. Nino turned and leant down and offered his hand, but as soon as their fingers touched Nino's entire body turned grey, and Adrien screamed his name, but no sound came.

Luka and Marinette approached from either side of Nino's still form, and each offered him a hand, but as he grabbed at them both desperately, the blackness spread across their entire bodies, and where Adrien's hands gripped their arms broke off and turned to dust in his palms.

And Adrien sat there helplessly and watched them all disintegrate where they stood.

And then he collapsed, alone in a field of ashes as far as the eye could see.

===

"Adrien!"

Adrien's face felt wet.

"Adrien, please wake up!"

Adrien jolted awake, breathing so heavy he wondered if he'd been suffocating. The first things he saw were Marinette and Luka's faces in the dark, clear as day with his night vision.

They looked horrified. Marinette was crying.

"What's wrong?" Adrien sat up immediately, but his voice was wrecked and it came out more of a croak than a question.

"You were screaming in your sleep," Luka touched his fingertips to Adrien's cheek, wiping something away, and his pale hands were shaking. "An-and crying..."

"I…" Adrien felt sore in different places and sniffed unexpectedly. "I…"

The nightmare rushed back to him and his heart stopped.

Grief and guilt and despair and fear and sadness flooded him as nightmares tended to do. By now, he knew they were only dreams, but he also knew that all those horrible things were completely capable of coming true.

Because they had, once or twice in the past.

And that was what hurt.

"I..." he choked out, and the tears started falling again. "I… you…"

"We what?" Luka whispered, wiping Adrien's cheek gently. "What happened, sunshine?"

"You… you died, I…" Adrien sobbed.

"No, we're here," Marinette hugged him. "We're here, Adrien, we're right here…"

"I killed you, you…" he whimpered. "Everything was gone, and it was all my fault…"

"Shh, kitten," Luka soothed, coming close and joining Marinette in hugging him. "It's over now, and we're all okay…"

"But, I…" Adrien gasped for air.

"I'm right here, okay?" Marinette whispered, reaching for one of Adrien's hands and bringing it up to her face. "See? I'm here. I'm okay."

She then reached over and nudged his other over to touch to Luka's arm. Adrien flinched at both touches and swallowed.

"Luka's okay." she told him, looking at his face, searching it for some sign it was working. "Luka's here. We're here."

"I'm here, sunshine." Luka took Adrien's hand and entwined their fingers and held it to his chest. "I'm here."

"You didn't hurt us, Ch-" Marinette caught herself, scowled, and sighed. "Adrien. You didn't hurt us, okay? We're alright."

"Were you about to say Chat?" Luka asked quietly.

"Chat has nightmares all the time," she nodded and nuzzled Adrien's palm. "He dreams that he's killed me, or killed Ladybug, or destroyed the city."

Luka looked to Adrien's face and brought the arm around his back up to stroke his hair gently. Adrien moved to press his head to Luka's.

"It's alright, sunshine," Luka murmured to him. "Everything's okay, I promise."

Adrien sniffled a little more, and looked to Marinette.

She gave him a brave smile, and it hit him that he'd always loved her a lot more than he'd thought. Every nightmare before tonight, Marinette had done the same thing, and Adrien wondered how he'd ever have survived them without her.

He curled the hand on her cheek around her shoulder, wanting her closer, and she moved into his lap and put one arm around his shoulders with Luka's arm, and cuddled up to his chest.

And Adrien held Marinette close with one hand and held Luka's hand with the other, and huddled between them and let his tears run dry.

Marinette kissed his cheek softly, and Luka did the same, both still whispering soothings and encouragements.

Eventually, Adrien sniffed and swallowed and took his hands back to wipe his cheeks.

"I'm sorry…" he sniffled.

"Fuck right off with that shit," Luka told him firmly.

"Luka, gentle," Marinette gave a weak smile.

"Right, sorry…" Luka kissed Adrien's cheek again. " _Don't_ apologize, sunshine."

"But I woke you up…" Adrien swallowed, rubbing his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault." Marinette soothed. "You were asleep, you couldn't control how you were reacting."

"And when you scream and cry, it means you need help," Luka reassured. "And we're always gonna wanna help you, sunshine."

"I love you," Adrien mumbled weakly and sniffed for the last time.

"We love you, too, Adrien." Marinette smiled softly and kissed his cheek again.

Adrien turned to her and nuzzled her face, and she brushed her lips against his. A smile tugged at his lips as he kissed back.

They kissed a few times and smiled weakly at one another.

"Feel any better?" Luka asked, now petting Adrien idly.

"Lots." Adrien kissed Luka's cheek.

Luka blushed.

"You want me in here tonight?" Marinette asked him.

"No, Mari, you can go back to the spare if you want," Adrien said, despite his thoughts asking her to stay.

"Alright." Marinette nodded. "Call out if you need me, okay?"

"Yeah." Adrien smiled and kissed her forehead as she moved.

Marinette gave Luka a quick peck on the cheek as she scooted past and padded out of the room.

"Sure you're alright, kitten?" Luka checked as they lay down again.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Adrien cuddled him close.

He wasn't sure if he was lying or not.

===

Adrien woke to the smell of bacon.

Luka was lying weird on his side of the bed, top half at an angle so he could see the door.

"Morning," Adrien nuzzled close.

"Morning, kitten, but shh," Luka smiled and his hand pointed out the doorway. "Look."

They heard the end of a song fading out on the lounge speakers, only to be replaced by the familiar and distinct sound of _What Is Love_.

Adrien watched as Marinette passed the open bedroom door in nothing but a dress shirt and underwear, dancing more than walking, a silly grin on her face. She popped her hips side-to-side with each beat, stepping bouncily back towards the kitchen, animatedly mouthing the words.

It was such a simple and endearing thing, to dance around so casually, and it was something she had always done, and watching her do it filled them both with joy.

" _God_ I love her so much…" Luka sighed happily.

"Me too." Adrien mumbled, hugging Luka close and snuggling into his bare shoulder. "I wanna wake up like this every morning."

Luka rolled over a little to smile at him, and Adrien watched the blue eyes flicker all over his face, full of that look Luka gave that he still didn't understand, but was beginning to like.

"C'mon, sunshine," Luka nuzzled his faze. "Let's go get breakfast."

===

"I'm just so sorry for the short notice, Marinette," August's mother shook her head.

"It's alright, really," Marinette assured, hoisting the big supply bag over her shoulder. "Go be with your brother."

The redheaded woman nodded and kissed her son.

"I'll be back at seven," she said, searching for something in her handbag. "I know he sleeps at six-thirty but he'll stay up a little later."

"No problem." Marinette smiled.

They waved goodbyes and Marinette closed the door and put August down. She shook her head and sighed. Luka appeared from the bedroom, finally dressed and towelling his hair.

"Sorry, Luka," she apologized. "I'll try to keep us out of the way, I promise…"

"It’s alright, baby, it was an emergency," Luka kissed the top of her head. "Not much to do about it but help."

Marinette smiled gratefully up at him.

"CAT NWA!" August pointed excitedly and accusingly at him.

Luka's heart stopped dead, and he saw Adrien tense on the couch. He wasn't sure how much August knew, because Luka knew damn well children were a lot smarter than people gave them credit for. There was a chance, if August insisted on calling him Chat Noir, that he - and by extension, Adrien - might be outed.

And then who knew what would happen?

Thankfully, Marinette herself saved him.

"He thinks you're a hero," she giggled.

Luka's heart warmed. Adrien gave a little smile.

"So, what will we be doing for the next…" Luka squatted down to August's level and checked his phone. "Three hours, huh?"

"Movie!" August exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"And what’s your favourite movie?" Luka asked, smiling.

"Captain America!" the child turned and leapt for the couch, clambering up to sit beside Adrien.

"August," Marinette crossed her arms. "You know Mommy doesn't like that movie."

"Mommy is dumb!" August pouted and crossed his arms in mirroring.

All three adults present felt personally offended by the silly retort.

"Don't call your mommy dumb, Baby August," Adrien frowned. "It's not very nice."

"I'm not a baby!" August scowled.

"Yes you are," Adrien replied matter-of-factly, picking up the TV remote. 

"But I'm a big boy!" argued the seven-year-old.

"Well, you're always going to be a baby to me," Adrien nodded decisively. "And to Auntie Marinette."

"Yep!" Marinette teased, lifting the little boy like he weighed nothing and plonking down with him in her lap. "You'll be a baby forever."

"NOOO!" August wailed.

Adrien and Marinette laughed, and Adrien found Captain America on Netflix and put it on.

Luka smiled at them all and returned his towel to the bathroom. He caught his own eye in the mirror on the way back, and wondered when he'd started smiling so much.

"His mama won't be impressed," Marinette warned Adrien quietly, smooching August's little cheek a few times.

"Would you rather have a fussy baby now or a mildly disgruntled mother later?" Adrien countered, leaning in, partly to be heard over the opening of the movie and partly hoping for the same treatment.

"Oof, you got me there," Marinette replied, chuckling.

"Shh!" August complained.

"Sorry, Baby August," Marinette and Adrien said together, and it sounded as though they'd done the same many times.

Marinette then turned and kissed Adrien and leant into his side a little.

Luka joined them by sitting down on Marinette's other side.

Watching the movie wasn't entertaining for the movie itself, Luka found. August kept quoting along with the scenes, which Marinette occasionally joined in on as a secondary character. Adrien seemed to react to the action, sometimes making a funny face at a movement or flinching and twitching with the fights on screen.

Marinette didn't say much about what was happening in the moment, but at one point she made a quiet comment.

"The modified museum outfit looked better…" she grumbled, making an adorable pout.

And Luka was so filled with affection for her that he braved a kiss to her cheek.

They sat in the dark on the tiny couch, illuminated by the bright lights, until the movie was over and the post-credit scene rolled.

Just after the proper credits started, an alarm went off on Luka's phone.

"Oof, time to get ready." Luka stood up and stretched.

"Where are you going?" August asked.

"Luka's going to play music in a big theatre with his friends." Marinette answered gently. "He has to get ready now, because it takes a long time."

"Should we watch another movie?" Adrien waved the remote.

"I wanna color." August said.

"Did you bring your books?" Marinette asked, reaching for the bag.

"Mommy wouldn't get them down from the shelf." the child pouted.

"Oh no," she replied.

"I might still have some crayons somewhere," Luka thought aloud. "Sophie loved crayons."

"They'd be in the spare room, then," Marinette smiled and looked down to the child in her lap. "Should we go see if we can find the crayons?"

"Yeah!" August hopped down off her lap and made his way to the door.

Marinette stood up to follow.

"Who's Sophie?" Adrien asked.

"Oh, Sophie's my daughter." Luka replied as casually as ever.

Adrien had no response to this apart from an exaggerated blink on a blank expression.

Luka burst into laughter, and so did Marinette in the doorway of the spare room.

"Not-" Luka tried to talk through the chuckles. "Not, like, by birth, sunshine. I was dating her dad."

"OH!" Adrien exclaimed, shaking his head rapidly. "Right, okay. Sorry, that... kind of stunned me."

"It's okay," Luka stepped over and ruffled his hair. "I can tell you more about it later, if you like. Right now I have to put on makeup."

"Oh, can I come help?" Adrien perked.

"That would be cool, actually," Luka offered his arm.

Adrien accepted and Luka told him to carry one of the kitchen bar stools with them for him to sit on.

"CRAYONS!" August shouted.

"Wonderful!" Marinette answered, grinning. "Let's get to coloring!"

"We'll be back out in a bit." Luka told her, and she nodded.

And with that, Luka and Adrien made their way down the hall to the bathroom to apply makeup.

"Hold this," Luka handed Adrien a black bag, and reached up to ball all his hair up into a little ponytail.

"Oh my god, I don't think I've ever seen your forehead before," Adrien teased dramatically.

"Fuck off," Luka chuckled, wiping his face with a wash cloth. "Could you pass me the foundation?"

"Yeah." Adrien sat the bag in his lap and reached in and dug around. "Ooh, you got the good stuff."

He handed him a tube of liquid foundation. Luka turned to the mirror and began to smear it all over his face.

"So… tell me about Sophie," Adrien poked around in the bag a little more.

"She'll be… eight this year," Luka said, rubbing the stuff into his skin. "And I was with her dad for a year when I was about twenty."

"Oh, wow, you're way too young to be her dad-dad." Adrien picked out an eyeshadow palette and opened it curiously.

"Yeah," Luka said, handing back the tube. "Her dad-dad would be twenty five now. His name's David."

Adrien took the tube and squinted, as if doing some math in his head, and slowly nodded.

"David." he hummed thoughtfully.

"Don't worry, kitten, you're the only man for me now." Luka smiled and winked at him, half-teasing, half-serious. "But, yeah, David. I met him at a show, we got to talking, and the next thing I know, I've been dating him for a month and his little daughter's started calling me daddy."

"You didn't notice?" Adrien raised an eyebrow. "I feel like you would notice if you're dating somebody."

"I noticed," Luka defended, tugging the eyeshadow pallet from Adrien's fingers. "It just… happened so naturally that I never had a chance to sit back and realise that was what was going on."

"Did… did you love him?" Adrien asked shyly as Luka fished around in the bag for a brush.

Luka paused and blinked at Adrien a couple of times.

"Yeah, sunshine, I did." Luka replied gently and nodded a little.

Adrien seemed to think on this.

"But, here's the thing about love," Luka said, choosing a black-grey eyeshadow and beginning to put it on one eye. "It's different for everyone, all the time, forever, cause everyone is different, and they're always changing, too. You can never expect love to happen the same way twice, and you can never tell when it's going to happen, either."

Adrien considered a little more, and then nodded. Luka switched the eye he was applying makeup to.

"How many people have you been in love with?" Adrien asked.

"Like, how many people have I dated?" Luka replied with a question, chuckling a little. "Or how many people do I actually love? Cause those numbers are very different."

"Uh, both, I guess," Adrien shuffled some.

"I have dated… oof," Luka paused to frown in the mirror. "About… thirty-ish people, and I love five."

"Thirty." his blond companion repeated.

"Well, some of them I wasn't with very long," he said, closing his eyeshadow palette. "And some I was dating all at the same time."

"All at the same time?" Adrien questioned.

"Yeah, sunshine, you can date more than one person at once," Luka informed. "As long as everyone's on the same page about it."

"So… you could have two girlfriends?" Adrien blinked.

"You could have _three_ girlfriends, if everyone was okay with it," Luka chuckled, and then a spot of weakness crept up on him as he returned the eyeshadow and brush to the bag. "Or… a girlfriend and a boyfriend…"

Adrien was staring into space, but intently, as if seriously considering some important decision.

"Or a girlfriend and two boyfriends." Luka shrugged, catching himself. "The possibilities are endless, really."

"And everyone just… loves each other?" Adrien asked, voice quiet.

"Well, yes and no," Luka said. "Sometimes not everyone in the group is dating every other person, but they're usually all very nice and caring to each other anyway."

"Did… did you like it?" Adrien asked him. "Dating like that?"

"Yes, sunshine, I did." Luka smiled. "I really liked dating like that."

Adrien looked down the hall for some reason.

"Could you pass me my eyeliner, please?" Luka beckoned.

"Oh, right, yes," Adrien shook his head and dug in the bag. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Luka scritched lightly under Adrien's chin. "Is there something on your mind, kitten?"

Adrien pulled out the eyeliner and opened his mouth, perhaps to speak, and then pursed his lips, probably second-guessing himself.

"No," he said, cheeks turning slightly pink. "No, I'm alright."

"Alright," Luka nodded gently and took the eyeliner. "But you know you can talk to me, right?"

"I know," Adrien smiled.

"Good." Luka said, and stuck out his tongue in concentration as he applied the liner. "Hey, what's your makeup routine as a model? Anything like this?"

"Depends," Adrien shrugged. "The artists have to balance the aesthetics of the shoot, the stylists' opinions, the outfits I'm given, and my skin tones and such. Sometimes it's a layer of foundation that takes five minutes, sometimes it’s a two hour fine detailing thing. I've been _painted_ before."

"Shit, really?" Luka eyed both the upper lines, trying to see if they were even. "Like, your whole body?"

"Yep. I was painted gold for a perfume ad." Adrien rolled his eyes. "I was finding paint in places I didn't know paint could _get_ for _two weeks_ afterwards."

"Eugh," Luka commented.

"Yeah," Adrien shook his head.

"I've found nail polish in some weird places, too," Luka gave him a sympathetic look, and then waxed dramatic. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"The scars will be with me to this day," Adrien replied theatrically. "But it is great comfort knowing that I am not alone."

They laughed together.

"Hmm." Luka considered. "You think adding a spike or two would be overdoing it?"

"Show me?" Adrien frowned.

Luka turned to him, and after a moment of scrutinizing, Adrien hummed.

"It wouldn't be overdoing it," he chewed his tongue, and then lowered his voice. "But your mask is black and spiky. With the eyeshadow and the show lights, there's a chance you'll be recognized from a distance, and the spikes would only make that easier."

"Shit, you're right." Luka sighed, putting the cap back on the eyeliner.

"Sorry," Adrien looked away.

"Not your fault, sunshine." Luka gave him a quick peck on the cheek as he leant over and fished for the mascara. "Think it's coming along okay anyway?"

"No, yeah, you l- you look good." Adrien stuttered, and the pink tinge in his cheeks returned.

"Mmm, not as good as you." Luka said off-handedly, focusing on applying the mascara.

Adrien wasn't sure why his heart skipped a beat, or why his face felt warm.

"Can you pass me the lipstick?" Luka asked, snapping him out of it.

Adrien dug around in the bag, and found three lipsticks.

"Yeah, which one?"

Luka closed and put down the mascara and looked over.

"Blue," he said, taking the tube on the left and turning back to the mirror. "Mind checking what color the other ones are for me, kitten?"

"Yeah." Adrien set the bag aside and opened the first tube.

It was dark violet and not very used. The second lipstick was black, and very well-worn.

"Whoa," Adrien said. "How old is this?"

Luka looked over, and something changed in his eyes as soon as his gaze landed on the black lipstick.

" _Really_ old," Luka stole a glance at the door and reached out and took it. "Might be expired, actually..."

"Why not wear that?" Adrien asked, watching Luka turn it in his fingers.

Luka turned on him with wide eyes.

Even though it wasn't intended to threaten, Adrien still shrank a little under the stare.

"W-what?"

"I can't wear it," Luka said. "I haven't worn it in years."

"Why not?" Adrien blinked.

"Don't you know?" Luka wagged the little tube for emphasis. "Black lipstick makes Marinette freak out."

"She gets mad at you for wearing black lipstick?" Adrien frowned, confused.

"No," Luka huffed frustratedly, then took another glance at the door and lowered his voice. "It's a trigger. It gives her a panic attack."

Adrien's face opened up in shock, which morphed to concern. He knew Marinette had panic attacks, and a few of her triggers, but he'd never known this one.

And there was something else.

Adrien remembered all his own triggers, and all of Ladybug's, too.

And one of Ladybug's triggers was black lipstick.

"Why does it freak her out?" he asked, blinking at the tube, unsure of what he wanted the answer to be.

"I don’t ask, sunshine, I just take care of her." Luka joined him in looking at the lipstick. "And if Marinette can't handle black lipstick, then I can't wear it."

"Do you miss wearing it?" Adrien asked.

"I honestly don’t care." Luka replied. "Marinette's way more important to me than show makeup."

Luka sighed and put the tube down on the sink and looked into the mirror for a moment. Adrien looked at Luka.

"Could you pass me the setting spray, please?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," Adrien replied equally softly, reaching for the little spray bottle.

"Don't breathe this in," Luka warned gently and misted all over his face.

Adrien held his breath until Luka handed back all the makeup items that were still on the sink.

All except the black lipstick, which remained ignored on the porcelain surface.

"Gonna go check on Marinette and get changed, ok?" Luka said with a weak smile. "I'll be back for you in a sec."

Adrien nodded and Luka scritched in his partner's blonde hair gently as he stepped out and went back to the lounge.

Marinette and August were coloring on the floor.

"Oh, wow," Marinette looked up to see him. "The new lipstick!"

"Yep," Luka smiled. "How's it look?"

"It looks great!" she grinned.

"Why do you color-in your face like mommy does?" August asked, standing up and walking over with a crayon.

"I'm in a band," Luka replied with a gentle expression. "We color-in our faces because we wanna look good when we play music."

"Can I color in your face, too?" August held up the crayon in his hand, a yellow one.

"Sorry, little buddy," Luka smiled, picking the kid up and resting him on his hip. "But this color wouldn't go with the rest of the ones I've got on."

"Aw." August pouted.

"Speaking of 'going with the rest of things'," Marinette got up off the floor and walked over. "Luka's gotta put on his outfit now so he can go to his gig."

"Does he have to go?" the child asked her.

"I wish Luka could stay, too, but we can't keep him all to ourselves," Marinette booped his little nose. "And it's late, and mommy will be here soon, and you have to go to home to bed."

August frowned and pressed closer to Luka.

"C'mon, August," Marinette coaxed gently. "If you hold onto Luka, you won't be able to hold your Home Time Cookie."

The little boy seemed to take a moment to think about this, so Marinette held her arms out in offer, and, finally, August reached for her in response, a signal he was ready to be handed over. Luka hoisted him down and gave Marinette a quick squeeze before heading into his room to change.

He undressed and dressed again piece by piece, and heard August's mother arrive just as he buckled his belt, but she left with her son before he could decide if he should go out to say goodbye.

"Hey," Luka poked his head out of the room, still tugging on his armbands. "Everything go okay?"

"He fell asleep before she got here." Marinette replied, gathering the crayons and papers from the floor.

"Oh, good." Luka chuckled. "I felt bad that he was up so late."

"He'll be fine, and he had fun." Marinette ducked the art supplies into the spare room. "You guys were really good with him."

"It was nothing," Luka replied, stepping out of his room.

"No, you're good with kids." she told him, stepping out of hers and stretching. "It's sweet."

Luka could only smile and hope the makeup hid the blush.

"How's your back?" he asked as she walked closer.

"Little sore," she replied, giving a yawn. "It'll be fine in the morning."

She paused and took a good look at him.

"Wow," Marinette commented.

"That all you have to say about it?" Luka teased.

"All that's appropriate," she replied smugly.

"Scandalous." he said, reaching up and pulling the elastic holding all his hair together out.

With an enthusiastic shake and only a little neatening, his mussed hair completed the outfit. 

"Ta da." he said, putting his arms out in display. "How do I look?"

Marinette gave him another glance-over, and he could tell she liked what she saw from the look in her eyes and the way she bit her lip.

"Good," she said, voice slightly breathy. "I like the vest."

"I thought you would." he said, reaching forward to pull her into his arms. "I like the way it fits."

"Things always fit you well." Marinette replied. "I don't think I've ever had to alter anything for you since we met."

"You don't think it shows off too much chest?" Luka prodded.

"Absolutely not," she protested, reaching up to lightly stroke the lapel near where the zip stopped, just below his pectorals. "It's a good chest."

He knew he shouldn't steer her into little fluked compliments like that, but it was satisfying sometimes.

"I mean, it's a good amount of chest!" she corrected herself, startled.

Luka couldn't help the snort of laughter.

"What?" she accused.

"Nothing, I…" Luka swallowed the confession before it could pass his lips and ruin the moment. "You're funny, Marinette."

"Yeah, you've been telling me that for years," Marinette rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I hope you know I mean it," Luka said, kissing her cheek and letting her go. "Alright, I'm gonna take sunshine to bed."

"Take me, too…" Marinette muttered as she parted from him.

Luka almost made it down the hall without hearing it. Almost.

He almost let it remain as if it had been unspoken, too. _Almost_.

But he just couldn’t help wanting to try, so he slid up to her again and hugged her from behind.

"I'd be happy to, baby," he whispered to her softly. "All you gotta do is tell me when."

And then, before his confidence waned and he melted into an apologetic mess, he broke from her and darted away to the bathroom.

Adrien had moved the stool in front of the mirror, and Luka couldn't figure out why right away.

But as he got closer, he saw.

Adrien had taken the last of the black lipstick and drawn an eyemask on his face with it, and was staring at himself with an unreadable expression.

The matte black shape looked so starkly contrasted with his bright green eyes and platinum blonde hair. It was uneven in places and the blank spots around his eyes were asymmetrical, likely because he'd only used one hand.

Adrien's eyes flickered up for a moment, noting Luka's presence, and the boy turned in fear as if he'd been caught doing something illegal.

"I'm sorry, I-!"

"No, no, sunshine, no," Luka shook his head and stepped over. "You haven’t done anything wrong, okay?"

Adrien swallowed, still hesitant, and then, for a moment, his eyes took a bit of a journey up and down Luka's body, but quickly looked away.

"You've made a mess, but…" Luka looked over the odd face-paint job. "I'm more worried about why you did this… Kitten, are you feeling alright?"

Adrien opened his mouth, but closed it again and turned back to the mirror.

"I just…" Adrien breathed, looking himself in the eye. "I was starting to wonder if it was all a dream."

Luka felt a pang in his chest at that. He wondered what to do, what to say.

He settled for reaching out and holding Adrien's cheek in his hand.

"Let me get this stuff off your face," he told him. "And I'm gonna give you the ring back."

Adrien looked like he wanted to protest, but Luka shushed him with his free hand.

"Just for tonight, just until I get home," Luka promised. "I just want you to wear it for a bit, ok? Just so you're reminded who it really belongs to."

Adrien searched his face, then nodded.

"Pass me the bag, will you, sunshine?" Luka smiled, squatting down and readying himself to remove the lipstick. "This'll only take a couple minutes."

===

Marinette ignored the way her gut had burned at Luka's suggestion and changed into Adrien's shirt to sleep in.

She argued with herself for a minute about whether she should say goodnight to Luka before he left for his gig, because she didn't want him to think she was mad at him, but also didn't want to risk becoming more hot and bothered by his current state of dress.

She had mixed feelings about those tight pants.

Finally, she decided that she would, and went out into the hallway.

At the end of the hall, through the open bathroom door, she saw Luka wiping something off Adrien's face.

"Good boy. Last bit," Luka encouraged, gently scrubbing a cloth under Adrien's left eye. "Almost done. You're doing really well, okay?"

Marinette smiled and leant into the wall. She loved how they were with one another.

It was so relieving, knowing that they got along and cared for each other. All the time she'd spent fearing that they'd fight or even just hate one another in silence seemed wasted now.

"There." Luka smiled and stood up. "All off."

"Thank you," Adrien said meekly.

"Thank _you_ for sitting still." Luka replied. "Just one more wipe with the water to make sure the stain will go, okay?"

Adrien made a little grumbly noise and a sad expression.

"Hold still just five more seconds and then we're done, I promise." Luka wiped across Adrien's eyes, and as he turned to put the cloth in the sink, repeated his earlier crooned encouragement. "Good boy."

Adrien visibly swallowed at that.

"Alright, sunshine." his roommate said, giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Bedtime."

Marinette ducked back into her room, and after a little shuffling, Luka picked Adrien up and walked him to the bedroom.

"Goodnight, Luka." came Adrien's quiet voice. "Be safe."

"I will." Luka replied. "I'll be back later, okay?"

Marinette walked out to approach him as he made for the front door, and Luka paused mid step.

"Goodnight, rockstar." she whispered, giving him a hug. "Come home safe, please."

"Promise." Luka sighed with a smile and kissed her forehead, too. "Now, off to bed with you, missy."

Marinette just rolled her eyes and walked to her bedroom door, and then paused to lean on the frame and watch him go.

She still wasn’t sure how she felt about those pants, but regardless, she liked the view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *drops this and runs*
> 
> next week gets INTENSE so prepare urselfs :3c
> 
> im not sure if im gonna touch on david more but the point of luka's relationship history is to serve as context for his life experience and to be used as examples and encouragement for marinette and adrien so dont worry it's not gonna become a Whole Thing
> 
> hope yall are enjoying this monster of a fic bc its got no brakes lmao
> 
> se yall next week c:


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> right so warnings for this time around: we have a mention of hatefucking, a mention of a shoulder injury, and a short discussion about sex health
> 
> also in the sexy stuff department, because i meant it when i said sex is literally a thing that will keep being a huge chunk of chapters, i wanna give warnings for kinks i suppose? in this chapter we have instances or mentions of: praise kink, biting, hickeys, bath masturbation, vibrators, bondage, fantasizing, sex in public, eating out, fingering, sex in dressing rooms, sex in a spa, threesomes, swallowing semen, and voyeurism
> 
> let me know if i dont have to warn about kink stuff or if there was something i didnt warn about that i shuld have and as usual, stay safe peeps

When Luka got home at 1 AM, he expected both of his roommates to be asleep.

Marinette was, and he gave her cheek a kiss while he was still buzzing with the energy from the performance and a half glass of beer, courtesy of a distracted Dennis.

Adrien, however, was a much more curious case.

"Kitten?" Luka whispered. "You awake?"

"Yeah," came a reply from the bed in the far corner from the door.

Adrien, rolled so he was facing the wall and looking very tense, seemed to resist moving when Luka walked over.

"I'm just gonna take a shower real quick, okay?" Luka told him, sitting close. "Wash off the gig and sober up."

"Y-yeah," Adrien nodded. "Did you want the ring back?"

"Yes please, kitten," Luka nuzzled him and gave his cheek a kiss. "And then I'll come back and we can sleep, yeah?"

"S-s-sounds good." the blonde stuttered, handing him the ring without rolling over to see him.

Luka slipped the ring on and left.

Adrien began to panic.

He knew he should have taken care of his current problem before now, since now he was going to have trouble sleeping, and overall the presence of the problem might make Luka feel weird, and he really didn't want that.

But he hadn't, and he couldn't very well do it now, and now he was anxious, and extremely on-edge.

He heard Luka come in again and some shuffling of clothing items.

"Hmm." Luka hummed, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his phone to silent for the night. "How was your night, kitten?"

"Oh," Adrien hated his life. "Y-yeah, you know. Good..."

"Good." Luka nodded, and Adrien heard the phone being put on the nightstand. "You feeling alright?"

"Yes, f-fine," Adrien replied, stunned and offended at himself for not being convincing enough.

"Hmm," Luka twisted back and raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound fine. What's wrong?"

"N-nothing, nothing's wrong," Adrien lied, because lying was what he did best.

"Please don't lie to me." Luka came closer, worried. "If something's wrong, please tell me. I wanna help."

"I don't know if you'd wanna help with _this_ ," Adrien muttered.

Luka was stunned and confused, but what else was new. He shuffled closer and put his hand on Adrien's arm.

"C'mon, sunshine," he coaxed, rubbing comfortingly. "Please talk to me."

Adrien pouted, the caring touch only making matters worse, and made a muffled whine.

Luka tugged at him, hoping to see his face, and, with the help of his cast throwing his balance, Adrien fell onto his back.

He squirmed, but it achieved nothing. Luka could already see how blatantly aroused he was through his underwear, and how much more flustered he was rapidly getting.

"Aw, kitten," Luka resisted the urge to scritch his hair softly.

"S-sorry," Adrien stuttered, shame and guilt setting in.

"Don't be sorry, sunshine," Luka shook his head. "This is natural, remember?"

"S-s-still," his blond bedmate tried to hide under his pillow. "I… I shouldn't get all…"

"It's alright, kitten, honest," Luka instinctively reached to touch and pulled back again. He settled for scooting close and speaking softly. "Do you want me to get you anything? Some water?"

Adrien only shook his head.

"Do you want me to go sleep on the couch?" Luka offered. "Or you could go for a bath? Have some Alone Time?"

"I… I get too loud… I'll wake Mari." Adrien shook his head again.

Luka ignored the way that concept threatened to put him in the same state as his partner and looked for another solution.

"Well," Luka finally gave in and brushed his fingers to Adrien's cheek. "I know a few ways to keep you quiet, if you want me to help you out?"

Adrien's eyes went wide and he made a muffled squeak.

"Right, that's a solid no," Luka sighed, still stroking his partner's too-warm cheeks. "Sorry if that wasn't okay..."

"N-no," Adrien swallowed. "It's alright, I-I know you were j-just trying to help…"

"Can I ask what's got you _this_ hot and bothered, kitten?" Luka asked softly.

Adrien tried not to look at Luka, he really did, but, to be fair, he was far too aroused to do anything well at that moment. All he could do was flicker his gaze around anxiously and go even redder in the cheeks.

"Oh. Aw, sunshine," Luka blushed and moved his fingers back a little to brush in Adrien's soft blond hair. "Was it something I did?"

Adrien shook his head slowly.

"Was it… something I was wearing?" Luka asked, trying to cross things off a list in his head.

"Mm-mm," Adrien mumbled a 'no' with his head shake this time.

"Was it…" Luka frowned. "Was it something I said?"

No head shake, which meant he'd hit the mark.

He thought about what he might have said before he left, and then realised what it must have been.

Luka really shouldn't have smiled about something like this, but his cheeks seemed to disagree.

"It was 'good boy', wasn't it?" he whispered.

Adrien seemed to twitch at this and his expression got more nervous and embarrassed.

"I won't say it again," Luka promised. "Unless you're okay with it."

Adrien swallowed and looked up at him with a mixture of curiosity and surprise.

"But, lord, sunshine, have you really been this bad since I left?" Luka asked. "You shouldn't keep yourself pent up. It's not healthy."

"I just… it's…" Adrien shifted into the pillow, his voice muffling. "I can't just _do that_ here… in your bed, with Mari in the next room…"

"This is _your_ bed too, kitten," Luka informed gently, still petting just lightly and hoping it was helping. "You're allowed to have Alone Time in it. And Marinette knows Alone Time is important. She won't think any less of you for it."

Adrien looked to be considering.

"No pressure, okay?" Luka promised. "But you should have some soon."

"Why?" Adrien asked.

Luka hadn't had to explain the health benefits of masturbation in a while, so he figured he'd keep it simple.

"You go to the gym with Nino, right?" Luka asked.

"…Yeah?" Adrien cocked an eyebrow.

"Alone Time is like exercise." Luka shrugged. "If you do it often, it helps keep you healthy down there."

"How often?" Adrien looked… concerned.

"Every day, if you want," Luka said. "But I think that's too much. A good amount is, like, a couple times a week, maybe. More or less is fine, too, just as long as it's regular."

"Hm..." Adrien seemed to think on this.

"It can also help you catch if anything's wrong down there so you can see a doctor, and it can help you improve on your one-on-one time, uh… performance." Luka added. "It's also just good to make yourself feel good sometimes. Alone time is important for lots of reasons."

Adrien said nothing.

"You okay, kitten?" Luka asked.

"I don't know," Adrien replied, shifting a bit. "This is a lot…"

"Want anything? Water? Food?"

 _I want you to touch me_ , Adrien's brain replied in earnest.

The conversation had his mind clearing a little, but he was still extremely aroused and his body still very much wanted release.

Luka's fingers idly playing in his hair were a double edged sword, for on the one hand, pets were a completely soothing and calming experience, but on the other, Luka could easily slide those fingers down Adrien's neck and shoulder, move along his bare skin, send shivers up Adrien's spine, travel lower still…

Adrien hadn't thought about it before a few hours ago, but now that he _had_ , he'd realized having sex with Luka would absolutely not be something he would be opposed to.

 _Especially_ after hearing him say those two little words.

The words 'good boy' had a profound effect on Adrien, one he couldn't fight if he wanted to, and hearing them in Luka's deep, smooth voice had pretty much instantly made Adrien melt.

Luka was warm and kind and gentle with him and Adrien couldn't deny that he found Luka just as attractive as Nino or Marinette.

And he couldn't deny that he _loved_ Luka the same way he loved Nino and Marinette.

But he was also miserably sure that Luka didn't feel the same way.

And here he was, useless and horny and having disgusting, selfish thoughts in Luka's bed.

"Kitten?" Luka beckoned softly from above. "You still okay?"

"Uh…" Adrien swallowed, self-loathing beginning to cloud his insides. "Honestly? No."

"Can I help?" Luka asked, the look in his eyes so gentle.

 _Kiss me. Touch me. Tell me I'm a good boy._ Adrien's insides begged.

"I don't know…" Adrien lied, looking away in shame. "I just… I still feel bad."

"You shouldn't." Luka encouraged. "I know your dad did a number on your self-esteem, sunshine, but I promise, this is okay."

Adrien made a short whine of protest and, with a great amount of effort, rolled onto his stomach to bury his face in the pillow. He heard Luka's soft chuckle and felt the fingers that had been scritching in his hair return and move along his scalp.

Despite the positive feelings trying to grow from his roommate's gentle actions, Adrien still felt like utter shit.

Of course, with his luck, none of it stopped the mewl that fell from his throat from the petting.

Luka paused.

"Am… am I making it worse again?"

"No, no, you… you were helping, you didn't do anything wrong." Adrien blurted. "I did. I'm sorry, I… I'm sorry, I'm… ugh, I'm _pathetic_."

"Whoa, sunshine-" Luka protested weakly, but didn't get far.

"I'm pathetic." Adrien grumbled into his pillow. "I'm a pathetic, disgusting, needy little shit. I'm… I'm _bad_."

Luka watched as after those last few words, Adrien's muscles seemed to tense and then relax too quickly. He was falling into self-negativity.

It seemed that Adrien's mood was in need of bolstering.

"Adrien," Luka beckoned, moving to hover above where Adrien was hiding his face. "Can I say the first thing again?"

Adrien rolled over halfway to look up in confusion.

"Can I call you a good boy for a bit? Would that be okay?"

Adrien flinched in surprise, but after a moment, he nodded.

"Good," Luka breathed, moving again, this time to lie down with his bedmate. "Cause you are. You are a good boy."

Adrien's eyes narrowed in signal that it was working, and he swallowed. Luka curled one arm under Adrien's head and tugged in close.

"You can tell me to stop, okay?" he whispered. "But you are. You're such a good boy, kitten."

Adrien squirmed in response, and snuggled into Luka's neck.

"You're a good boy for Marinette," Luka told him, nuzzling his cheek and wrapping his free arm around Adrien's side for a full hug. "You're so patient with her, helping her at school, keeping her warm at night. You're her good boy."

A muffled whimper sounded in the green-eyed boy's throat, but at the same time, an involuntary smile was growing on his lips.

"And you're a good boy for me, too," Luka may have been just the slightest bit too enthusiastic about praising his partner. "You talk to me, you tell me things, you let me know what's wrong and you let me help you figure it out. You're a very good boy."

Adrien's hands clung to the skin of Luka's back and his good leg came up to hook around Luka's hip.

Luka chuckled deeply, and it made the burning in his gut worse.

Adrien wanted him closer, closer still. He wanted to kiss him and be kissed and held and touched and… and cum. The burning was unbearable, so overwhelming that he felt like the lightest stroke to his dick would undo him.

"You alright, sunshine?" Luka asked.

Adrien made a little whine, but he nodded.

"Such a good boy, kitten," Luka whispered, his lips tickling the skin of Adrien's cheek with the words. " _Our_ good boy."

Oh, that was it, it was too much. Any more and he would…

"L-Luka," he panted. "If you keep going, I… I'm gonna…"

Luka closed his eyes and asked a very important question.

"Do you want to?"

 _Yes, yes, yes, please god yes, please, I want to, I want to!_ Adrien's brain begged. _Please, please, please, yes, yes, please, please-_

But Adrien just shook his head, almost violently.

"Alright," Luka smiled and began to pet and purr for him. "Deep breaths, kitten."

Adrien panted heavily and snuggled into Luka's chest, seeking the comforting rumble.

"It's alright," the older boy soothed, holding his bedmate tight. "It's alright."

"S-sorry," Adrien whimpered.

"Don't be." Luka whispered. "Do you at least believe me?"

"Y-yeah, I do." Adrien admitted.

"Good." Luka nodded and gently kissed his forehead. "You okay?"

"I, uh… I always feel pretty helpless when I… get like this…" Adrien told him softly. "I don't know why."

"Sex can make you feel vulnerable, especially if you're the submissive type," Luka nuzzled him. "But you're safe, kitten, I promise."

"I know." Adrien moved, still wanting to be closer. "I trust you, Luka, I…"

Luka looked right at him, surprised and curious.

"I l-love you." Adrien whispered in earnest and closed his eyes, hoping nothing bad came in reply.

Luka _beamed_.

"God, I love you, too, sunshine," he confessed like he was going to burst if he didn’t, kissing every inch of Adrien's face he could reach. "So much."

This, however unsurprising Luka thought it should be, made Adrien jolt and look up in surprise, and then, after a moment, he let his eyes fall closed, and kissed Luka properly.

Luka had kissed dozens of people, and some people dozens of times, but there was something different about this. Something more… magical, perhaps? Maybe more natural. It was as if Adrien's lips were magnetic and his were just drawn to them.

They kissed and kissed and broke for air and kissed again. Luka's hand moved down to stroke lightly along the thigh wrapped around his hip.

Adrien whimpered into his lips.

"Sorry, kitten," Luka whispered, moving his hand back up. "Course of habit. You alright?"

"I…" Adrien took a second to look him all over. "I'm good."

"Good." Luka sighed, still smiling. "And, look, if… if it'll help at all, I can tell you how to make a mess out of me."

"What, like, mutual kink blackmail?" Adrien half-laughed, snuggling into Luka's neck again.

"So _dramatic_ , kitten," Luka squeezed his partner, feeling like he could burst from joy but trying to stay calm and follow the mood of the conversation. "I would _never_ use anything that happens in bed against you. But, you can call it that if that’s what you want to call it."

"Alright," Adrien chuckled warmly and it made Luka want to kiss him a dozen more times. "So what is it, then? How would I make a mess out of you?"

"Well…" Luka's racing heart hit a stutter and his face warmed. "I like… I like to be bitten. Mostly on my neck."

"Like… like hickeys?" Adrien pondered.

"Y-yep." Luka half-laughed nervously. "Give me enough hickeys and I'll be fucking _useless_."

Adrien eyed the soft, warm skin of Luka's neck, almost tempted to pay his bedmate back for getting him so riled up.

"And if you bite me hard and I'm close, I'll lose it instantly." Luka whispered.

"So, I could, conceivably, get you off using only my teeth?" Adrien murmured, his breath warm on Luka's skin.

"F-fuck," Luka whispered and blinked and swallowed. "I mean, y-yeah, hypothetically…"

Adrien tucked that information away for later.

"So, now you know _my_ secret." Luka cleared his throat. "So we're even."

Adrien turned his head just enough to kiss Luka's cheek.

"Your secret's safe with me." he whispered.

"So's yours, kitten." Luka replied with a gentle kiss to Adrien's lips.

Adrien blushed and hid his face, making a happy little whine.

"Jesus Christ, stop being so cute, you're gonna kill me," Luka huffed, smooching all over his cheek. "C'mon, sleep time."

"G'night, Luka," Adrien mumbled.

"Goodnight." Luka smiled, and his cheeks didn't stop hurting until he feel asleep. 

===

"Guys."

Luka squinted in the sunlight that burst past his eyelashes.

"Guuuyyyyys," Marinette whispered.

Adrien made a little grumble and Luka smiled again.

"If you don't wake up, I'm gonna jump on you," their little roommate warned.

Luka yawned and rubbed his eyes with his unsquished hand, then waved to signal his awakeness.

"One out of two doesn't cut it," Marinette said, and Luka heard the smile in her voice.

"Mari…" Adrien shifted his arms around Luka's middle and bent his neck to squint at her in the bright light from the window. "We're up, don’t jump on us."

"Darn." she puffed. "It would have been fun."

"What's so urgent that you had to wake us for anyway?"

Marinette walked over, still wearing the Adrien shirt she'd worn to bed last night, and sat beside them.

"I woke you up to tell you," she crossed her arms. "That if you need to pee, do it now, cause it's my day off and I'm going to take a bath."

"Bubble bath?" Luka raised an eyebrow.

Marinette seemed to blush at this, but Adrien had no clue why.

"Yes." she replied curtly. "So, just… knock if you need to come in… and all that…"

"Of course, baby." Luka smiled and gave her that look.

"Also, be careful," Marinette warned. "Cause I can't come running if something goes wrong."

"Yes, Mari." Adrien yawned. "Someone help me to the bathroom, please."

"We'll both go," Luka replied, nuzzling him, and then turned back to Marinette. "Go check if you need to do anything else before you go in, baby."

Marinette nodded and stood up and padded away. Luka watched her go.

"C'mon, kitten." he yawned.

===

About ten minutes later, they were done and back in the room, but instead of getting back into bed with Adrien, Luka walked around and pulled a large shoebox out from under the end of his bed and dug around in it a moment.

He seemed to find what he was looking for and smiled, closed the box and put it back under the bed, and immediately darted out to the lounge with it.

"Marinette," he beckoned. "C'mere."

Adrien, confused and curious, listened in.

"What's this?" the sound of some fabric shuffling. "EEP! _Luka!_ "

"Now, now, baby," Luka tutted. "I know you love your Little Rainbow, but it's not waterproof. This one is."

Marinette made a little grumbly noise.

"We don't want another Clara, do we?" he said.

"No… but, still…!" A light smack sound, probably a bap to the arm.

"You know you don't have to use it," Luka said softly. "But it's there if you want to."

Marinette made what sounded like an exasperated sigh that ended on a tired tone.

"Go relax and make yourself feel good, baby girl." Luka whispered, and Adrien heard the telltale sound of a smooch.

Luka seemed to start walking back towards the room, and Adrien saw him partially through the doorway before-

"LUKA." Marinette blurted.

"Yeah, baby?" Luka paused to lean in the doorway.

"THANK YOU." she yelped.

"You're welcome." he replied, came into the bedroom and closed the door before whispering: "Love you."

And then he stretched and came over to flop face first onto the bed.

"Mari going to get in the bath now?" Adrien asked.

"Mm-hm." Luka replied, shifting up to a comfier position. "How are you feeling, kitten?"

Adrien considered the events of the previous night and blushed.

"I…'mm feeling alright," he smiled nervously, and then, hoping to avoid going too deep too quickly on their talk the night before, opted to get curious. "What's… what's Mari's 'Little Rainbow'?"

"Oh, that's her, uh…" Luka smiled nervously. "That's her vibe set, sunshine."

"V… OH," Adrien went red. "Sh-she has a whole s-s-set?"

"Well, no, she lost one to a bathtub," Luka chuckled. "But, yeah, she's got a few, in a 'lil box. Kagami bought them for her."

Adrien blinked. He had so many questions.

"Why… wha…" he stuttered.

"Marinette is a girl with needs, and she's been single for a long time, it's completely understandable," Luka shrugged. "But, I've been dating for years, and I own more toys than she does. People just own toys, kitten. They're fun."

"I never had anything… like that…" Adrien put his hand to his face. "I never even seriously considered it…"

"Well if you wanna try something out, let me know." Luka smiled.

Adrien swallowed thickly, images popping into his head heavily inspired by the adult media he'd been consuming for years. He wasn't - and would never be - a fan of being trapped, so he knew for sure that he didn't want to be tied up, but there were _definitely_ a few things he wouldn't mind trying out.

He shuffled a little to hide the evidence of his thoughts and asked another question.

"Why's it called the 'Little Rainbow'?"

"They're all a different color," Luka answered, resting his eyes. "She named 'em, too. It's cute."

" _N-n-named_ them," Adrien stammered.

"Yep." his bedmate chuckled. "After all the people she's ever been attracted to."

Adrien opened his mouth to ask a question, but thought better of it. Luka noticed, though, and decided to answer anyway.

"I don't know if she has one for you." Luka smiled, not opening his eyes, but then his smile dropped. "I know the yellow one's Chloe."

"C-Chloe?!" Adrien squeaked in a very Marinette-like fashion. "I know Marinette likes girls, but _Chloe_?"

"Yeah, and I hate it, cause every time she uses it she ends up going way, way too hard, and makes herself sore." Luka shook his head. "Like, sure, hate-fucking can be healthy sometimes, but not when you get hurt."

Adrien's head reeled.

"I also know she has one for Nino," Luka opened his eyes and his cheeks went pink.

He offered no further explanation, so Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"Marinette… may have asked…" Luka cleared his throat. "If I… wanted to use it. Once or twice."

Adrien's immediate question to that revelation was:

"Did you?"

"N-no," Luka shook his head. "Fantasizing feels weird to me, sometimes bad, even."

"Isn't… isn't it normal?"

"Yeah, but…" Luka rolled over. "Ah, it doesn't matter."

"So… you and Nino…?" Adrien pried.

"What about it?" Luka looked at him.

"You… think he's hot, or…?" 

"Yes, sunshine, you're not the only one who thinks Nino's hot." Luka smiled. "But I don't _just_ think he's hot."

"Oh, you…" Adrien didn't know how to feel. "You're in love with him."

"…Yeah..."

"Does… does he love you, too?" Adrien asked quietly.

"That's a complicated answer, kitten." Luka frowned. "I love him a lot, like I love you and Marinette, but he's got a lot going on right now, and…"

Luka sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Sometimes, no matter how much you love someone," he said softly. "You can't be with them." 

Adrien laid down to curl into his side.

"It might be that they're not ready, it might be that they don't think of you that way. Hell, they might even be taken by someone else." Luka murmured. "It's just one of those things that hurts, but you have to live with anyway."

Adrien kissed his cheek.

Luka smiled sadly at him and returned the kiss.

Adrien opened his mouth to say something, but only a chirp came out as Luka's phone in his pocket buzzed against both their thighs and startled them.

"Work." Luka sighed as he checked the number. "I gotta go."

"I know," Adrien sighed.

"Hey," Luka whispered. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

He kissed him tenderly.

"I know," Adrien mumbled, rolling back, then added, very, very quietly. "…love you…"

"I love you, kitten." Luka told him, smiling softly at him, and got up to get ready.

===

Luka stood at the bathroom door for a good two minutes, trying to decide if he should interrupt Marinette's bath to tell her he was going to work.

On the one hand, he'd love to interrupt, because knowing what she was doing, and knowing how the last week or so had gone, there was a good chance he'd get to kiss her, to touch her, and he wanted nothing more.

On the other, interrupting was rude, and Marinette deserved some time to herself, and if she was already getting into it, an interruption might leave her unable to finish, and that was just plain unfair.

So Luka sighed a little sigh and whispered a little 'I love you' to the door, and turned around and went to work.

===

Marinette played with some of the bubbles and gave a sigh.

She rubbed her shoulder, but only out of habit. There was no pain in it now, even after the bad landing the other day.

She found herself listening out for the boys, only to be met with quiet.

Marinette sunk down into the warm water in an effort to relax more than she already was, which wouldn’t be hard if she actually started doing what it was that she'd gotten into the bath to do in the first place.

She blew some more bubbles in the water. She wasn't sure why she was stalling, either. Perhaps she was just nervous.

She hadn't exactly had alone time here before.

She'd almost had one-on-one time, though.

Marinette blushed and the ache between her legs began to intensify.

She had heard footsteps in the hall, and the front door closing, which meant Luka had probably been called in to work.

She knew Adrien was in their room. Maybe she could get out of the bath and go to him, and he could soothe her neediness.

But they hadn't exactly had any time alone together recently.

She wasn't sure if he was willing to have her.

They certainly kissed and cuddled on the couch often, but what if he didn't want anything more?

Marinette made a little grumble and moved.

She'd wanted Adrien forever.

She wanted him now.

She wanted to get out of the bath and walk down the hall in nothing but a towel and go into the room and get into the bed with him and kiss him until she suffocated.

She wanted his hands and his lips on her skin.

She wanted…

Marinette groaned and moved again, frustration and annoyance tainting her mood.

She crossed her arms on the side of the bath and sat her head on them.

On the floor was the little pouch and the toy inside that Luka had given her.

Her blush deepened.

Of course she was _tempted_ to use it, but she hadn't _planned_ on using it, because even though she knew she could, she was too nervous.

But, on the other hand, Marinette really wanted relief, and right now it seemed like the only way she was going to get it was with Luka's toy.

She plucked the bag off the floor and pulled out the vibe. It was longer than her little rainbow vibes, and a little thicker. It was patterned with ocean waves in green and cyan and blue and white.

"Cute… very Luka…" she mumbled.

Marinette shivered and bit her lip, now aroused beyond ignoring, but still so anxious. She'd never finish if she stayed all wound up like this.

Her thoughts of Luka reminded her to relax.

She sighed and got into a slightly more comfortable position in the water, hooking her leg over the side of the tub.

She hit the little button and the vibe turned on.

It was more powerful than her little rainbow, too.

Marinette giggled nervously, and bit her lip as she lowered it into the water and into herself.

She whimpered involuntarily, and it echoed off the tiles in the bathroom. She slapped her hand to her mouth, terrified that Adrien might hear.

And then she began to lose her senses to the unfamiliar toy, and it was all she could do to keep herself quiet while it began to make her entire body weak.

===

Adrien had heard the whimper in the bathroom.

He'd guessed, by the clues Luka and Marinette had given in their words, that she was going to be having some alone time, but he hadn't planned on being aroused by that information.

And he hadn’t planned on hearing her going about it, either, but he found that he wasn't complaining.

The thought of Marinette's adorable little form, spread out and touching herself, was enough to make him ache. For three weeks, he had been craving her touch, in more ways than one. He wanted to feel her soft hands on his skin, kiss her lips till they were both as out of breath as he felt after patrols, and then kiss her everywhere else.

Adrien winced and squirmed a little in the bedsheets. Images of running his tongue along Marinette's sensitive spots set off all the right alarms in his head.

Maybe she would get out of the bath and come to see him, and he could stroke her skin, maybe even taste her…

His groin pulsed.

Adrien groaned and put his hands on his face.

The shame of wanting to do such dirty things seemed much weaker than it used to be. Probably Luka's doing. He seemed to have an interesting effect on Adrien's emotions nowadays.

His emotions… and his body.

He couldn't stop thinking about Luka's offer of help last night. What would he have done if Adrien had said yes?

Where would he have put his hands, his mouth?

An image of Luka's head between his legs make Adrien's dick twitch.

Adrien made a grumble of protest and shuffled again. Luka had told him it was fine, but the thought of having alone time here was still daunting.

Marinette didn't seem to have any trouble, if the sporadic little whines he heard from the bathroom were any indication.

He wondered what she was thinking about.

Did she think like he did when he touched himself?

She'd almost told him what she wanted Chat Noir to do with her. He wanted to know, and he wanted to do it.

Adrien had fantasized about letting those visits with Marinette go sexual, even before he knew he wanted it to happen for real. About letting himself kiss her, hold her close, mark her so that she'd go to school with his claims on her neck and other boys and girls wouldn't get any funny ideas.

It felt a little mean, in retrospect; wanting to keep her all to himself, but never actually loving her.

But he'd been much better to her recently. Or he'd been trying to be.

He still wanted her to come in, naked and dripping from the bath, and join him.

Adrien scowled and bit his lip, and slowly moved his hand down his chest and abdomen.

He wanted Marinette so badly it was beginning to hurt.

Other fantasies popped into his head, most of them university-based, because that’s often where he was when he thought about fooling around with her to stave off boredom.

Marinette sitting pretty on his dick in secret during a lecture and both of them trying to keep their composure as the professor talked about profit margins. Eating her out from under the desk while she was taking notes in one of the classes he didn't take with her… or maybe one of the classes she didn't take with him. Fingering her discreetly against the lockers under the guise of a little harmless making out.

Adrien stroked himself lightly through his underwear and pushed the elastic down, though he couldn't quite bring himself to take them off completely.

He'd imagined undressing Marinette often enough. At night, on her balcony as Chat Noir, simply tugging away her shorts and panties and dropping them to the floor beside the deck chair and burying his face in her pussy. In his dressing room, on the days when his father had the time to approve her being present for his modelling, stripping her and sitting her on the makeup dresser and sliding into her between outfit changes.

Adrien panted, pumping quickly, wanting to be fast.

Taking her to the spa at his father's summer home that he'd begged to take a friend or two to for summer break, and getting it on in swimsuits in the bubbles. Taking Marinette on out-of-town shoots, seducing her in a sky-high New York apartment with the midnight city out the floor-to-wall windows.

A climax was rapidly creeping up on him, and he had to put his hand in his mouth to be quiet.

Of course, all these thoughts quickly began to turn into his favourite fantasies of all; threesomes with Marinette and Ladybug. If Adrien could make that happen one day, he'd die a happy man.

Sometimes he thought of threesomes with Marinette and Nino, too, but Adrien was too scared to think of them for too long lest he get more detailed ideas about his dear friends.

And, now, Adrien's mind was conjuring a fresh fantasy. One that was achingly realistic and that he seemed to want more than anything in this moment.

Marinette on top of him, Luka behind her, both of their hands on Adrien's skin, both their voices humming and sighing in ecstasy, and both of their most intimate parts joined to his in a strange and pleasurable arrangement.

Adrien couldn't swallow the moan that rose from his throat and he barely caught is release with his free hand before he shuddered and went limp and flopped back to the pillow.

He panted for a good thirty seconds, trying to bring himself back to the conscious world.

As was habit, partly out of necessity, partly out of instinct, and partly out of finding it mildly pleasurable, Adrien licked his hand clean.

He fixed his underwear and closed his eyes, drained and flustered and slightly lonely, and hoping to sleep.

And then he felt his heartrate skyrocket as he heard footsteps coming down the hall.

===

Marinette had climaxed hard and fast, and had barely had ten seconds to recover before the sadness kicked in.

Getting out and draining the water and cleaning the toy and letting her hair down and wrapping a towel around herself had been motivated purely by the need to go and ask Adrien for some comfort.

She hesitated before the doorway, biting her lip.

"A-Adrien?" she asked, maybe too quietly.

"Yes, Mari?" he replied, equally softly.

"I… I, um," Marinette peeked in, blushing. "I was… I wondered if…"

"Did you want a cuddle, Mari?" Adrien asked, but, oddly, there was nothing teasing in his tone.

"P-please," she whispered.

He held his arms out, as if asking for a hug.

Marinette obliged with a gentle smile, padding over and crawling beside him and embracing his head and shoulders gently. He wrapped his arms around her middle. Her hair was dry and it tickled and she smelled just like she always did, if a little more wet.

"You comfy?" she asked.

"Very," he nuzzled into her shoulder, trying to ignore how she was naked under the towel. "Are you feeling okay, Marinette?"

"Better now." Marinette smiled.

She kissed his cheek.

Adrien smiled.

"Adrien…" she bit her lip. "Do… do you like it when I kiss you?"

"Yes, Mari," he replied, giving her a squeeze. "I like it a lot."

She sighed a little sigh of relief and blushed.

"In fact," Adrien braved, praying nothing went wrong. "I… I always want more…"

"More kisses?" Marinette asked.

 _More than kisses!_ his mind supplied. _Kisses and touching and-!_

"Yes…" he half-truthfully admitted, going a little red.

"Well you can certainly have more kisses!" she smiled, as though it were obvious.

He came closer, eager to taste her lips, since it seemed that she wanted the same.

Once they connected it became very, very evident that she did.

This kiss was passionate, perhaps more so than either had expected. Adrien felt the urge to press closer to Marinette. _Press closer, hold tighter, kiss harder_ , his brain coaxed. 

He considered, tightening his arms around her, but made no further movements.

Then they had to breathe.

Marinette was bright red and avoiding eye contact. Her chest heaved a little, brushing up against his own every couple of seconds, and the fluff of the towel tickled.

"Was it bad?" he asked.

"No, you're great!" she blurted. "I mean, it was great! Not that you aren't great, I- oh, _god_... sorry..."

Adrien chuckled. She was cute when she was flustered.

"Do… do you maybe… want to keep going?" he bit his lip.

All Marinette could do was nod.

This kiss was still passionate, but something about it had intensified. Her hands pulled his shoulders closer, and one of his arms began to wander down her back.

And they kissed, and then his hand was on her butt.

And they kissed, and then her leg had hooked over his waist.

And they kissed, and then they had to breathe again.

This time, the pause didn't last nearly as long before resuming.

And then, before either of them really knew what had happened, she was straddling him and looking into his eyes with a mixture of desire and shock.

Marinette sat up, slowly for the sake of not losing the towel, and a quiet squeak sounded from her throat.

"Do you want me to get off?" She was red.

 _I very much want you to get off on me, princess_ , Adrien thought to himself.

"You can stay if you want to." he gulped aloud, and prayed she didn't notice the boner.

He wasn't exactly sure what would happen if she did.

"Do _you_ want me to?" Marinette had both hands on his stomach, and he could feel her fingertips clinging a little on his skin.

"Very much," his voice failed him a little and it came out a lot raspier than he'd have hoped.

Marinette bit her lip and did a little wiggle in reaction. The movement made his fingers press into her thighs, where his hands had found themselves when she'd gotten up onto him.

"Mari," he breathed.

"Bad?" she flinched.

"No, Marinette…" Adrien sighed, and pushed on her thighs, pressing her against his hardness. "Good."

Marinette gave a tiny gasp as she felt it on her sex, and looked at him in awe.

"You want me?" she breathed.

He hesitated, pursing his lips and closing his eyes.

"You… don't want me…" Marinette sighed.

"No, no, Mari!" Adrien begged. "I w-want you, I do, it's just that… my leg, I…"

They both knew his intimacy options were limited with the clunky cast and the fragile limb.

Marinette took a breath and made a little tisk, and seemed to relax, and Adrien took this as a good sign.

"Oh, Adrien..." she crooned, changing her tune, stroking her hands up his chest to his face. "You don't have to move."

He looked up at her in awe, breathing deepening, and the look in her eyes made his heart pound and his arousal pulse.

"You can just lie back," she rocked her hips slowly, trailing her hands back down at the same time. "And let me take care of you."

Adrien shivered at the movement and the suggestion.

"That's why I moved in, after all…" Marinette leant down to be close to him, whispering in his ear.

Her lips brushed against the skin of his neck and Adrien's face and gut began to burn.

"M-Mari…" he stammered.

"Hmm?" she kissed his cheek.

"It’s not fair if I can't take care of you, too…" Adrien brought his hands up to her waist.

"I can wait," Marinette assured softly, kissing his nose. "Or… maybe someone else could take care of me until your leg is better."

Adrien's mind provided a suggestion, and he didn't have the strength to wave it away, but, after letting himself give it some thought, he found he no longer minded the idea.

"He could, couldn't he…" Adrien murmured, biting his lip.

"And," Marinette smiled and he heard it in her words. "You know he'd take care of you, too."

"I know…" he breathed, the supplemental images in his head beginning to wreck his resolve.

"You don't have to worry, Adrien," she cooed, kissing at his cheek and stroking his skin lightly. "We can all take care of each other. No-one has to be left out."

"That sounds perfect," Adrien whispered, nuzzling her.

"We'll talk about it when Luka gets home, alright?" Marinette kissed his lips.

"Yeah…" he replied, kissing her again.

He moved her, pulling her upwards so that he could get to her neck and chest, and she squeaked and giggled. He took his time, caressing her skin with his lips, sucking a little mark or two.

"Mari," he asked, smooching at her jaw.

"Mmm?" she hummed in reply, cheeks warm.

"I wanna take your towel off."

She looked surprised and then hesitant, and brought a hand close to her chest.

Adrien knew that Marinette was self-conscious about her breasts. They weren't as big as other girls' - Alya and Chloe and even Lila all ended up with much bigger busts than hers - and while that had never remotely bothered Adrien or Nino or Luka, it still bothered her.

"You don't have to be nervous, Marinette," Adrien looked her in the eye and nuzzled the towel where it covered the soft parts of her chest. "You know I love all of you."

A little whimper sounded in her throat.

"It's alright, Mari," he spoke softly and kissed above the edge of the towel. "You don't have to take it off if you're scared."

She took the hand away from her chest and moved it to tangle her fingers in his hair and cradle his head, leaning down for another passionate kiss. When they broke and Adrien opened his eyes, her other hand was clinging to the towel.

"I… " she swallowed, sitting up. "I w-w…"

"Relax, baby girl," came Luka's voice, gentle but still unexpected. "There's no rush, we promise."

Both of them snapped their heads to the door. Luka was against it in a very forced casual lean, cheeks as red as theirs were, chewing his lip.

"Hi." he made a nervous smile.

"Hi," Adrien and Marinette replied at the same time.

"Sorry, I… should have said something sooner." Luka confessed. "I just didn’t… didn't want to interrupt."

Marinette made a muffled squeak and buried her face in Adrien's neck in an attempt to hide.

"How… how much did you hear?" Adrien breathed.

"I came in when you asked who'd take care of her…" Luka swallowed. "I was gonna say something, but… I wanted to see what she said first."

Marinette whined. Adrien rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort.

"Should I… should I go?" Luka bit his lip.

"No," Adrien shook his head stutteringly. "I think Mari could use some reassuring."

Luka trod over and sat beside them.

"Baby?" he asked softly.

"Mmm…" she groaned in answer.

"I'm sorry for watching," Luka offered. "I won't do it again."

"It's not that…" Marinette sat up and put her hands to her face. "I… mmm…"

"You don't have to be shy, Marinette," Adrien told her softly.

"Well I am!" she protested.

Luka and Adrien shared an amused glance.

"Why are you shy, baby girl?" Luka reached out slowly and brushed his fingers to her arm.

She just squeaked into her palms.

"You don't have to be shy, Mari, you know we love you," Adrien stroked his hands up and down her sides.

"But don't rush yourself, love," Luka moved his hand slowly up her arm and over her shoulder to rest on her back. "Do things when you feel ready."

Marinette peeked through her fingers at them and took a deep, shaky breath.

"That's it, baby, just relax." Luka soothed.

Marinette leant into him and he smiled and gave her a squeeze. She put a shaky hand on Adrien's chest and Adrien took it and held it and smiled at her.

There was a silence that was as comfortable as it was tense. The air around them was charged with a potentially sexual mood, but they were also just together, innocently enjoying one another's company, and with the right words, the atmosphere could swing either way.

But, of course, with their luck, before anyone could say anything, both Adrien's phone on the dresser and Luka's phone in his pocket loudly announced an Akuma Alert. Beyond the hall, in the spare room, they heard Marinette's phone making the same sound.

Each of them made an assortment of upset faces and noises of protest.

"I should…" Marinette spoke as if she'd just been told to do an overnight commission by Cynthia. "Go turn that off, and… and check my phone… and get dressed…"

"Yeah, baby," Luka kissed her cheek. "You go, I wanna talk to Adrien for a bit."

"I'll leave you to it, then," she smiled, leant down to kiss Adrien's forehead and awkwardly climbed off his hips.

She shuffled toward the door, but then she paused and looked back over her bare shoulder.

"Love you…" she said softly, and they heard her rush into her room.

Luka smiled and turned to Adrien.

Adrien blushed under his gaze.

"You could smell her, too, right?" Luka whispered. "Not just me?"

"Yeah." Adrien swallowed. "She soaked my underwear."

"Oof." Luka gave a shudder. "You okay?"

Adrien answered with a little groan.

"Aw, kitten," Luka reached down to the dresser beside the bed and got him a fresh pair of underwear. "Here."

"Thanks…" Adrien murmured weakly, reaching out to take them.

Luka sniffed the air suspiciously when their hands got near, and then smiled at Adrien.

"I can smell that, too, sunshine." he said softly.

Adrien swallowed.

Luka moved onto all fours above him, and Adrien thought he was heading for the window, but he paused there, and got close, nudging and nuzzling.

"You made yourself feel good, didn't you, kitten." Luka whispered happily.

Adrien swallowed again, then nodded.

"Mm, good boy." Luka kissed his cheek.

His bedmate squirmed, red and slowly growing a silly smile.

"I think you should go again, kitten," Luka kissed his temple and gave him a firm nuzzle. "For obvious reasons. I'd love to help you out myself, but I need to go punch that akuma in the face for interrupting. But, hey…"

A moment of tension as thick as Marinette's thighs.

"You've been a very good boy, okay?" Luka whispered, and kissed him deeply.

Adrien moaned and when Luka broke the kiss, he blinked helplessly up at him.

"I'll be back soon," Luka kissed his cheek again. "Love you, kitten."

Luka didn't move before transforming, but then he was disappeared out the window far too quickly, and Adrien was left in the same state he'd been in last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. twenty five chapters. i want to inform that this fic has a little bit of story left to go, and then i plan a shorter sequel to wrap up some loose ends
> 
> i spent a lot of time assigning kinks to these characters that would feel right for them lmao. maybe too much time. anyway
> 
> next time we jump into akuma action and PLOT bc weve been off with the fairies far too long now
> 
> see you thennn


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for this chapter: mention of a dead bird, a mild head injury, mention of cigarettes, an explosion with two implied casualties, some mean teenagers, invasive questioning, a slap to the face, a yelling match, a trash fire, mentions of bullying and suicide, mentions of starvation and discussions of death
> 
> b safe kiddos

The moment Tigereye made it to the roof, he realised there was something very wrong.

The air felt scarily colder than it had less than an hour ago.

The reason why this was the case, he discovered the second he landed on the Meeting Roof, was that the centre of the city was frozen solid.

Ice and snow covered every surface for dozens of blocks.

Tigereye slipped upon landing and flailed, but still ended up flat on his back.

Luka hadn't fallen on ice in two or three years.

He rolled to his side and made it onto all fours, but the boots and gloves were smooth and he fell onto his stomach. The momentum of the fall even made him slide a few feet.

Ladybug was standing near where he stopped, and he looked up to her in disgruntled unimpressedness.

She was trying not to smile.

"Hair down today?" he asked, going for 'painfully casual'. "It looks nice."

"Thanks, Tiger," Ladybug said quickly, because speaking any more words than that would open the floodgates to laughter. "Want some help?"

"Actually, I'm good down here for now," Tigereye replied, giving a thumbs up. "Trying to pick up people on their asses on the ice usually just ends up with more people on their asses."

"Right, right," she nodded. "Have you seen the akuma yet?"

"Nope, nothing." he shook his head, looking around the frozen roof. "Not even a loud taunt."

"Fair to say ice, though." Ladybug crossed her arms.

"And if we can't see it from here," Tigereye stuck his tongue out and raised one hand up to bring his claws down on the ice. "Means it's either normal or shrunken."

"Now you're using your noggin," she smiled.

His claws roughed up the ice nicely, and he scratched a large patch out, and, with a little difficulty, slowly clambered to his feet on it.

"We gonna use the little magic foods for this?"

Ladybug nodded.

"I remembered mine this time." Tigereye assured. "But I've only got the water and flying ones left."

"You didn't get your refill yet?" she frowned.

He shook his head apologetically.

"Alright, well," Ladybug puffed. "Using different ones worked well last time, so let's…"

She looked around, but even the slight shift in her balance made her slip. Tigereye reached out and grabbed her arm instinctively, pulling her close like he would a flailing Marinette on the ice.

She blinked at him and he immediately took a step backward, landing on his ass again.

Ladybug and Tigereye blinked at each other, and then laughed weakly.

"There should be a dumpster down here, somewhere," she jerked her head in the direction of the alley around the Meeting Roof. "Let's go get ourselves transformed."

"Yeah," he nodded in reply.

Luka considered for a moment, then stuck his claws in the ice again, but this time, he used the slippery surface to his advantage and did a bit of a formless breakdance move, let go, and successfully slid all the way to the edge of the roof and off of it.

"Ohmygod," Ladybug half-laughed and dropped haphazardly to all fours to follow. "Are you okay?!"

"All good!" he called back. "Come on down, I'll catch you!"

She sighed an amused sigh and dropped herself off the edge.

Tigereye caught her, but of course, he slipped again on the frozen ground, and they both fell.

"Oof," he grunted, mildly winded, and then pointed to their right. "Dumpster's there."

"Yeah." Ladybug got out of his lap and zoomed across the ice floor on her butt, bouncing off the wall to the other end of the snow-piled dumpster like a human pinball.

Marinette detransformed, and the ice immediately began to burn against the skin of her bare thighs.

She'd rushed out of the apartment with nothing but the towel on.

Time would tell just how bad of a decision that was.

"S-so, the aqua transformation would be no use." she told her partner, handing Tikki an ice mini-macaron, and shaking with nerves and the unexpected chill.

"Guess I'm flying then," he said, picking out the camembert slice and giving it to Plagg.

Plagg seemed to give him a sour look as he swallowed it.

" _Transforme moi_ ," they said in unison.

A moment of silence.

"TIKKI!" Ladybug yelped in a very Marinette-like fashion.

"What, what's wrong?" Tigereye stood up, leaning on the dumpster to keep himself upright.

"THIS IS TOO SHORT, TIKKI!" she squeaked, sliding into view on the skates.

Ladybug's ice outfit was a little red dress with black hexagonal spots. It looked like a cheongsam, but the skirt barely passed her butt. It was split at the sides, and underneath were some tiny leggings. Her black boots had gotten much taller, reaching her upper-thighs, and now had fur lining and some silvery icicle designs, and her gloves had had a similar treatment.

Her mask had reverted back to the original red-with-black-spots instead of her usual black-with-red, and on top of her head was a little silvery tiara with seven spikes. Her midnight-black hair had stayed down, and some red and white ribbons sat amongst it.

She looked beautiful, and uncomfortable.

For the first time since they'd met, Ladybug wouldn't make eye contact. She was also blushing, something he'd never seen her do, and standing like someone was intimidating her.

"You okay, Ladybug?" Tigereye asked.

"The… the suits change sometimes, I…" she stuttered out. "I wasn't expecting this."

"They change?" he cocked his head.

"Yes," Ladybug took a nervous breath. "How they look depends on what you think a hero looks like, and what the kwamis can make fit you. Things changing in your life can make your suit change."

She frowned at the floor.

"And _clearly_ ," she grumbled. "Tikki decided this was a good time to let my ice suit change."

"Oh," Tigereye hummed. "Is it a bad change?"

"It just feels a little…" she swallowed and held the back of the skirt to her thighs with her hands in an incredibly un-Ladybug-like pose. "Exposing."

"It looks like a normal competitive skating outfit to me," he said. "But it's okay if you're not comfortable moving in that, Ladybug."

"I skate." Ladybug shook her head. "I know this is normal, I just… might need a second to adjust."

"Okay, but let me know if you need to change, alright?" Tigereye prodded. "I don't want you going out there if you're not feeling a hundred percent."

She blinked at him and the blush in her cheeks returned.

"That's… that's good of you, Tigereye," she smiled weakly. "But…"

She trailed off as she looked him over.

Tigereye's outfit hadn't changed much at all. The belt and pants and boots were all the same. The jacket was now a rather immodest vest, cut so his arms and most of his back were bare. On his forearms starting from his gloves, and on his biceps, were black wrappings.

And, sticking out at every angle from his extra-mussed hair, the holes of his belt, the wrappings on his arms, and the buckles on his boots, were black feathers that matched the ones covering the wings on his back.

His mask was no longer two spikey shapes, but one big black smudge that faded halfway down his cheeks, like grime, or perhaps an over-generous amount of eyeshadow.

"You look like a dead crow," Ladybug blurted ungracefully.

"Oh, thanks," Tigereye deadpanned.

"No, you literally-" she smiled haphazardly. "The feathers!"

"Oh," he held up an arm and inspected it, then gave the rest of himself a glance over. "Sick, I look like the Rasmus."

"That goth-rock band that’s been around for twenty five years?" Ladybug gave a quizzical look.

"Yeah," Tigereye nodded and smiled brightly. "How do you know them?"

"My best friend loves them." she seemed to ease up.

"Huh, never pegged you for the hard rock type." he put his hands on his hips, and she saw his tail swing easily from side to side, telling of happiness.

" _Excuse me_ ," Ladybug feigned offense. "I happen to _love_ Jagged Stone."

"That just means you have good taste." Tigereye tisked.

A deafening crack sounded in the distance and it jolted them out of their little bubble of casual banter.

"That sounds like a good beat to come in on," Ladybug made a little huff and put on a determined face. "Fire up those wings."

"Wings?" he blinked.

She nodded, looking amused.

"Try thinking about flapping." Ladybug stifled a smile.

Luka thought about the word 'flap'.

The muscles in his back moved in a way that made his mind stop dead in horror and his arms seize up and twitch in discomfort. In his peripheral vision, he saw two big black shapes shifting either side of him.

"Easy, easy, Tiger," Ladybug glided his way, face painted with worry. "It takes a second for your brain to figure out how to accommodate them. Just breathe, it's gonna be okay."

"What the fuck. What the _fuck_ ," he murmured, his brain seeming to lag a moment. " _What the fuck_."

Ladybug made a hesitant smile. Another massive crunching sound reached their ears, and the part of Luka that was still functioning realised why Ladybug hadn't opted to change out of the ice suit, no matter how uncomfortable.

Because he felt it, too, he had since he was young, and it had only gotten stronger with time.

A desperate pull to help, regardless of self.

"Okay, that's enough getting used to it." he scolded himself. "Let's go."

Ladybug smiled and nodded.

"Jump as high as you can." she advised. "The wings will do the rest."

Tigereye eyed the frozen ground and climbed up onto the snowed dumpster, crouched a little and shot upwards.

Luka jumped during skating all the time, and sure, jumping while transforming was a lot more powerful than even that, but there had always been that sensation of _coming down_.

There was no such sensation now. Only the freakish flexing of muscles in his back as the black feathered wings that had sprouted from it moved.

His baton vibrated against his thigh.

**{u have a headset)** read a text from Ladybug.  
**{connects to my comm)**

Luka dug around in his extremely ruffled hair, only to find that his real ears had some kind of weird device in them. He felt gently and found a button.

"Hello?" he asked, replacing the baton.

[Nice work,] Ladybug's voice sounded in his hear, much like the last time they had used transformations. [So, I know you didn't have much confidence with flying, but don’t worry. It's not exactly something humans can train for. You'll get by with Plagg's help.]

"Right." Tigereye replied.

[But here are some tips;] she said. [Keep your arms to your sides and kinda lay flat when you go forwards. When you want to go back, lean backwards from an upright position. If you're turning, lead with your head and the neck and shoulders will follow. And when you come down, feet first. You won't die, no matter what, but at least feet first's more comfortable.]

"Anything else?"

[Yeah. If you try to do a trick, don’t hesitate, or you'll end up on your ass. Again.] Ladybug warned playfully, and then waxed serious again. [You gotta throw your whole body momentum into every part of flying.]

"Oh, so it's like skating, but three-dimensional," Luka blinked.

[I… yeah, I guess it is,] Ladybug laughed. [So, then, how well do you skate?]

"Ladybug, my dear Parisian heroine," Tigereye rolled his shoulders and coasted forward in a test of his theory. "There's only one person in the world who can skate better than me."

He was correct, flying worked an awful lot like skating, and soon he was moving at a speed he was satisfied with.

"And it's the girl I'm in love with."

[That was the most dramatic compliment in history.] Ladybug said in amused awe. [And she didn't even hear it.]

"Well, whether she can hear it or not," Luka smiled and raised his head so his body could clear a frosted radio tower in his path. "It's true."

[You're a real sweetheart, Tiger,] she replied. [Okay. If you're moving, can you find me? I'll be the red dot going really fast in the middle of the street.]

Tigereye turned a little to steer himself into view of the roads. The massive black wings flapped only every minute or so, largely only gliding.

"How close to the ground should I be?" he asked, searching for her.

[The height you're at is fine.] Ladybug said, and he spotted her and watched her grab a light pole and use it to spin gracefully out into an intersection.

"Nice moves, Little Lady," Tigereye smiled as he soared above her. "Are you by any chance a professional skater?"

[If I was, I wouldn't be able to say so, snoopypants.] she scolded gently, shooting a look up at him.

"Snoopypants," he laughed, circling not unlike a vulture. "Fuck, I haven't heard that insult in a while."

[You guys started the call without me?] came the distinct voice of Nino. [How many in-jokes have I missed?]

"Like, four," Tigereye replied happily, moving about quickly to see if he could spot him.

[Damn.] Carapace huffed. [Hey, Fluffy…]

"What?" Luka questioned.

"HEADS UP!" came an enthusiastic yell, and he snapped toward the sound.

Soaring toward him was Carapace, riding his shield like a snowboard, having used a frozen truck on the street behind him as a ramp, the biggest grin on his face.

He passed Tigereye in mid-air and landed in the intersection, cracking the ice on impact and sliding a ways before scraping to a stop, hauling the shield up onto his back, and turning to skate over to Ladybug in a remarkably fluid movement.

When he stopped, he held up a double peace sign, and said "Cowa-fucking-bunga." in dead monotone.

Ladybug snorted and giggled and Luka couldn't help but grin.

Tigereye landed in a crouch on the cracked patch of ice so they could convene.

"Nice moves, Shelly," he said, attempting to rise, almost falling, and thinking better of it.

"Nice outfit, Fluffy." Carapace replied as they skated over. "Rasmus, huh?"

"What can I say?" Tigereye shrugged. "Any band that can last twenty-five years in this industry definitely have my respect."

Carapace chuckled and turned to Ladybug.

"And look at you," he crossed his arms, impressed. "That's Olympics wear right there."

"Yes, well," she blushed a little and shrugged exaggeratedly. "Not like I had much say in the matter."

"You look good." Carapace assured.

"And you look the same." Tigereye commented.

"Excuse me," the turtle sassed. "There are snowflakes on my armour now."

"Right, right, my bad." the crow-cat half-laughed and held up his hands in defence.

To be fair, that was about the only change, Carapace's outfit was relatively the same. The only differences Luka could see were some fur lining in the hood, a pair of snow goggles replacing the mask, and mint green snowflake insignias on the armour plates on his joints. The color palette was also now a cooler set of greens, but apart from those, no huge alterations.

"You didn’t happen to find the akuma, did you?" Ladybug asked.

"No, but I know what she looks like." Carapace replied. "She's a snow fairy. A little girl was getting sick of the heat and wanted winter to start early."

"Another child akuma." their red spotted leader seemed to darken.

"I know, Ladydude." the turtle sighed.

"Where was she last seen?" Tigereye asked.

Ladybug took out her yoyo.

"Seen near the Eiffel Tower about four minutes ago…" she shook her head. "True to form."

"Papillon's a predictable motherfucker." Carapace huffed.

"Tigereye," she beckoned. "Can you scout ahead? We're fast on the ice, but there are no obstacles in the sky to slow you down."

"Yeah," Tigereye nodded, saluted and shot upwards.

The pull on his guts by gravity made him a little nauseous, he would admit, but there was something thrilling about it. Skating was amazing, but flying was _exhilarating_.

Luka looked around to get his bearings and turned for the Eiffel Tower.

===

"They're here." Carapace warned, taking a leap over a frozen car.

"When aren't they?" Ladybug replied, lowering to slide under the icy arc that had formed from a burst fire hydrant. 

[Who's here?] Tigereye asked through the comm.

"Etta and Ella Cesaire." Ladybug sighed, taking a sharp turn onto a main street. "After Alya had to give up on the Ladyblog for work, her twin sisters took it up."

[Is… is that a good or a bad thing?] their airborne teammate questioned.

"You know, we're not exactly sure." Carapace huffed, swerving to dodge a bicycle that had been frosted over in the road.

[Why?] Tigereye prodded.

"Because Alya was good at it, but at least she knew when to stop." Ladybug shook her head.

"Etta and Ella are both just as smart and capable as Alya was," Carapace explained, snatching Ladybug up by the waist and jumping them both over a frozen bus in the centre of an intersection with his shield. "But they have nothing keeping them in check like she did."

[What do we do?] Tigereye asked.

"They usually stay out of the way, but they'll probably try to interview us after the battle," Ladybug said, not bothering to attempt to get herself out of Carapace's arms while he skated for the both of them. "So if you don't feel up to being interrogated, make yourself scarce asap."

[Noted.]

"Okay, we're coming up to the Tower." Ladybug said. "What do you see?"

Tigereye didn't reply.

===

Luka had spotted the little girl on the observation deck, and in an effort not to scare or startle her, he'd turned his comm off.

She looked like a normal little girl dressed as a fairy, with wings and a little wand and a tiara and snowflake-patterned dress, but her entire figure was pale blue and deathly white. She looked as if she had been frozen for a hundred years.

He landed with his quiet cat feet, and stalked closer, only to realise she was crying.

"Hey," he coaxed. "What's wrong?"

"No-one's come out to play with me!" the little girl sobbed.

Luka felt for her, but he couldn't in good faith tell her she was right to change the weather whenever she felt like it.

"Well, that's because no-one wants to play in the snow right now," Tigereye said gently, treading carefully over to her, keeping an eye out for the akumatized item. "It's summer, little one, it's time for swimming and running around in the park."

"But I don't want to do those things!" the child complained.

"Well, you can do something else you like, then," Luka shrugged, crouching nearby. "You can watch TV or read a book or play some videogames. You don't have to go outside if it's too hot for you."

"I guess," the child fiddled with the skirt of her blue and white dress.

~Don't listen to him, Morning Frost,~ Papillon's echoing voice rang out around them. ~He wants to take away your lovely ice and snow.~

"NO!" Morning Frost yelled. "No-one's taking away my snow!"

She jumped to her feet and waved the little wand in a circle and then aimed it at Tigereye.

He immediately leapt into the air, donked his head on the ceiling and rubbed it briefly. An explosion of sparkly snow erupted where he had been crouching.

"So much for _that_ approach," he reached among his hair and turned the comm back on. "Hey, guys? I found her."

[Great work,] Ladybug replied. [You okay?]

"Yeah," Tigereye swooped about the partially enclosed observation deck, dodging fire. "I've had a little bump to the head, no big deal. She's shooting magic out of a little wand, and I don't know what happens if you get hit, so watch out for it."

[No problem,] Carapace chimed in. [Can you see where the akuma might be?]

"SIT STILL!" she yelled. "I NEED TO KILL YOU!"

Tigereye looked the little girl over again as he flapped about in the beams above, trying to avoid her aim.

Her wand was the best bet, since akumas were generally where the victims powers came out.

But - and Luka really didn't like the idea - her little fairy wings were purple, and nothing else on her was.

"I wanna say the wand," Tigereye hooked his feet on a support beam and used them to flip himself behind it. "But I get the feeling it might be her wings."

[Oh no.] Ladybug said, and her tone betrayed that she had come to the same conclusion.

"We won't have to…" Luka couldn't even bring himself to say it. "Will we?"

[We might not have to,] Carapace assured, but even he clearly thought they might.

"COME BACK AND DIE!" Morning Frost screamed, taking off to reach him.

Tigereye saw an opportunity and swooped past her, hoping she would follow.

She did.

He dived out of the bounds of the tower and swooshed between his arriving teammates towards the bridge behind.

Glancing over his shoulder to check for the little villain, he found her pursuing faster than he'd expected, and had to quickly bank right to avoid being hit by a wand shot.

His wing clipped a lamppost and it spun him out of control, throwing him towards the Seine.

Luka's skating instincts kicked in, his mind registering the frozen river as a wall, and he swerved up and left, bringing him around and back towards the akuma.

He passed her, realised he should have snatched her out of the sky, and smacked himself in the head.

[Tigereye, are you alright?] Ladybug beckoned in his ear.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to think," he said, dodging down a street. "We gotta damage the wings without…"

[I know, Fluffy.] Carapace joined in.

[See if you can shake her,] Ladybug said, and a quick glance back saw them skating down the road towards him. [We're gonna try Lucky Charm.]

"Alright." Tigereye halted, wings flapping forward. "I've lost cops before, let's see if I can't lose a kid."

Morning Frost zoomed towards him, tiny grumpy face half adorable and half fear-striking, and Luka just willed himself to drop out of mid-air. She missed him, both with her flight path and her shots, and he looked around as he plummeted.

His wings snapped open to slow his descent, and the wind they picked up as they beat frantically blew his hair around his eyes, which annoyed him and messed with his vision. One wing curled in to flap his face with unexpected insistence and he ended up trying to smack it away with both hands, losing a couple of feathers in the struggle. He wondered if it was Plagg's doing.

The chase was hardly over, though, and Morning Frost turned to come for him as he landed.

Luka took a look around as he began to slide along the iced road and spotted a blocked off area of decaying buildings a few blocks down the road. Right as she got close, he kicked off, which wasn't as powerful a start as it could have been with the slippery surface, but was enough to dodge with millimetres to spare and get him off the ground.

Tigereye soared through the street so fast that some of the snow and ice dust below flew up in his wake.

"STOP FLYING SO FAST!" Morning Frost complained.

"Don't you want to play?" Tigereye called back. "Can't catch me!"

"YES I CAN!" The little girl pointed her wand backwards and sent a flurry from it, propelling her forward.

[Tigereye, we have a Lucky Charm,] Ladybug said in his ear. [It's a cigarette lighter, but I can't find anything to do with it.]

"I'm headed for the construction area in the eighth," Tigereye responded, ducking under a power line. "I think I might know what to use it for."

[Alright, we're gonna pass it to you.] she said.

"What? How?" Luka's heartrate doubled.

"CATCH!" yelled someone that wasn't his little pursuer.

Entwined by the arms, Carapace and Ladybug passed above him, having slingshotted themselves with her yoyo, and a little red object fell in front of his face.

Luka snatched it up quicker than he ever thought he could move. The lighter.

Finally, the construction site was within reach.

Tigereye looked back a moment, saw that the akuma was still following, checked that his teammates had landed safely nearby, and dove upwards to make it over the first decrepit building.

The roof had a large hole in it, and he dropped down, expecting to land on the top floor, and instead crashing through several floors to the ground and blinking up at the pale blue sky in the distance, dazed.

~Morning Frost, catch the flying kitty!~ Papillon urged.

"I'M GONNA GET YOU!" Morning Frost yelled, zooming towards him.

"Not if we catch you first!" Ladybug chimed in, falling from the sky through the hole in the ceiling.

Luka may have been sporting wings, but amongst the streaming sunbeams scattering from the crystals of ice and snow in the air, Ladybug was the one that looked like an angel as she descended.

Tigereye clawed his way off the frozen ground to evade Morning Frost, and went back to dodging her shots. Ladybug landed, Carapace following seconds behind, and all three of them attempted to advance.

It was a chaotic scene, a yoyo and magical bursts of snow flying in every direction, three colorful superheroes twisting and leaping and inching their way towards the little akuma, and the little akuma herself trying to juggle her attention between all of them at once.

Ladybug's earrings beeped a warning.

"Shit!" she swore and her head snapped to Carapace. "I'm down to my last one!"

Morning Frost turned to her, and Tigereye saw his chance and pounced.

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" he yelled, colliding with the little girl.

Carapace snatched Ladybug up by the waist again, took the shield off his back and skated right at the wall of the building.

He crashed through it, throwing dust and bricks in a tiny explosion, and slid out into the construction yard.

"No, no, no," Ladybug chanted, panicking. "Not enough time, Nino, throw me!"

"No way." Carapace snapped. "You won't survive the landing."

She opened her mouth to argue, but the final beeps came before she could get a word out.

Carapace growled in desperate frustration and dropped to the ground and curled around her protectively, hiding her little figure entirely from the world with his body and the shield as a burst of pink light signalled her detransformation.

He craned his head back, panting from the exertion and the stress, trying to resist confirming if it was truly Marinette in his arms out of duty alone.

~Morning Frost! They're vulnerable! Go after the earrings!~ echoed Papillon's voice from within the building.

As soon as he saw the little fairy appear from the wrecked wall, Carapace called his power, and watched as balls of snow poofed against the outside of the magical green barrier.

Tigereye wasn't far behind Morning Frost, swooping out of the cloud of rubble, a fury in his intense blue eyes Nino had seen only a handful of times, and he chased her around the perimeter of the shield with impressive speed and control for someone who'd only been flying for perhaps twenty minutes of his life.

" _ **Tikki**_ ," Ladybug urged, distressed, in his arms, and Carapace held his breath.

"I need just a little more time," the kwami replied.

Carapace focused on the battle going on beyond the bounds of his protection.

Morning Frost turned back and fired a shot and Luka dodged it without flinching. She didn't turn back in time to see where she was going, and smacked into a large tank.

A tank of gas.

"Tikki!" Ladybug hissed, and Nino's head looked down on reflex.

For a good moment, he just stared at Marinette, and Marinette stared back, knowing that they had fucked up.

Tigereye inspected the gas tank as well as he could while chasing the little girl, who was now more angry, and throwing more shots. It seemed to be covered in a layer of ice, but there was a chance that if he cracked it, the metal beneath would be weak enough to burst, too.

And he was banking on that chance.

It took Nino a few seconds to look away from Marinette's eyes, but what he saw only made him snap his eyes right back into the sky anyway.

"WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!" he yelled incredulously.

"I'M WEARING A TOWEL!" she yelled back.

"THAT’S _NOT_ THE POINT!" he countered, trying to close around her tighter.

"YOU’VE SEEN ME NAKED BEFORE!" she burst out, panicking completely.

"YEAH, WHEN WE WERE LIKE _FIVE_!" he argued.

" _ **TIKKI**_!!!" they screamed in tandem.

"A few more seconds!" Tikki demanded.

Outside the shield, Tigereye was rapidly running out of patience for an opening to collide with the gas tank. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait much longer - Morning Frost hit it herself while she looked back to aim at him, stopping her dead and cracking the icy shell around the tank.

He shot to her position and grabbed her right arm with his left hand, pinning her to the side of the big metal cylinder.

"Stupid kitty," she goaded, raising the free arm to point her wand right at his chest. "Wrong arm."

"Shit," he breathed.

He'd half-hoped the delicate wings would have been crushed when she hit the tank, and that the butterfly would be freed without resorting to further violence, but clearly he had no such luck.

"Any last words?" Morning Frost asked. "Before I turn you into a snow-kitty and take all your miraculouses?"

Luka saw the reflection of his teammates huddled inside the shield in the icy metal, too far away and distorted by the reflection and the magical barrier to see clearly, but there all the same. They were watching, and something dawned on him.

His right hand, hovering by the Lucky Charm where it sat clipped to his belt, twitched as he realised what he was going to have to do.

"Yeah," he whipped the lighter up and punched his fist through the cracked ice and the metal behind, burying his arm in the tank and stunning the little fairy. "Just one."

She gave him a confused and angry expression.

"Sorry." Luka swallowed, the look on his face one of haunted terror and miserable acceptance.

He flicked on the lighter.

White light, a deafening sound, and searing heat.

Quickly replaced with stark darkness, a sharp silence, and chilling cold.

===

Nino dropped his shield the moment the explosion died. Marinette called for her standard transformation in the same second.

The ground around the blast zone had thawed instantly with the heat, and charred metal, smoke, rubble and steam off the melting ice and snow lay in a considerably sized debris-field around where the tank had once been.

No Tigereye, no akuma, and no butterfly to be seen.

Neither partner said anything, neither even moved for a moment.

"TIGEREYE!" Ladybug screamed, feeling the impact of his vanishing on a delay.

She ran forward and stopped and tried to figure out where he would have landed from where he was standing when he was thrown, and then ran that way.

" _Detransformation_." Carapace dropped the ice power-up and began to follow.

Ladybug found two leather-clad legs and an extremely ruffled wing sticking out from under a large chunk of metal. She practically ripped it off the ground.

Tigereye was entirely intact, but once they both peeled him off the ground and cradled him between them, they found that he was also utterly unresponsive.

"He's indestructible," Carapace whispered, as much to himself as to Ladybug. "He's not dead, the explosion just knocked him out."

In his hand was the lighter. She snatched it and threw it into the sky, yelling " **Miraculous Ladybug**!" in desperation.

In a flashing wave of magic, the entire area was repaired.

Morning Frost, laying perhaps fifteen feet away and also relatively undamaged, moved, and as she did so, the wings on her back disintegrated, releasing the tainted butterfly into the sky.

Ladybug caught it without a word, purified it, and let it go. The little girl got up and began to make her way over to them.

Tigereye woke up with a startling gasp and looked between his teammates.

"Did we do it?" he croaked, putting his hand to his head, and Carapace bear-hugged him.

"Mlle. Ladybug?" the little girl approached, touching the heroine's arm and making her flinch.

"Oh," Ladybug bit her lip, looking between the girl and their injured partner, and then sighed. "Don't worry, little one. I'll take you home."

"No, I will," Carapace said. "I have to be somewhere, and if Etta and Ella catch me, I won't make it out before I detransform."

"Go with Carapace," Ladybug nodded at the girl. "He'll take you home."

She looked back to find Carapace giving Tigereye a gentle kiss before standing up. Tigereye seemed stunned and flustered by this, and watched the turtle leave wide-eyed.

Carapace also decided to kiss Ladybug's cheek as he picked up the little girl and hurried out of the construction site.

Ladybug turned to Tigereye, and after a moment, shoved his chest.

He fell back and gave a little 'oof'.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" she yelped at him, something inside her snapping.

"Beating the akuma?" he asked weakly, trying to sit up again.

"Don't you _ever_ ," Ladybug grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close to frown at him. "Do that again."

"But… I had to," Tigereye swallowed. "There was nothing else I could do…"

"Don’t you understand?!" her voice broke. "I can't lose _you_ , too!"

He blinked and she froze up. Slowly, her cheeks went as red as her suit, and she let go of him and looked away to rise to her feet.

Luka smiled and sighed and stood up himself and reached for her arm. She flinched at the light touch and looked to him in surprise.

Wordlessly, he held his arms out in offer of a hug, and Ladybug accepted.

A camera flash went off.

"Ladybug, five-year heroine of Paris, shares a romantic hug with her rookie teammate on the site of the recent battle with Akuma of The Day, Morning Frost." came a voice behind him.

Luka jumped involuntary and tried to hide behind Ladybug.

She giggled at him, and gave his hand a pat where it clung to her shoulder.

"Easy, Tiger, it's alright." she smiled gently, and then her expression fell as she turned. "Hello, girls."

Two teenaged girls, identical apart from their clothing, stood before them. One held a camera, the other a dictation recorder, and both looked an awful lot like Alya Cesaire.

"Etta and Ella Cesaire," Ladybug motioned with a slight movement of her head, helping him to his feet. "More often called Thing One and Thing Two."

"Step aside, if you please, Mlle.," the one holding the dictation recorder stepped forth. "I want to get a good look at the new guy."

Ladybug stepped aside with an unimpressed face.

"Just hold still, Tiger," she sighed. "Ella won't bite."

"Etta, on the other hand," the teenager joked and lifted Tigereye's arm to inspect it. "There's a reason we keep her behind the camera."

Luka wasn't sure about how hands-on this little girl was getting as she circled him like a vulture. He looked to Ladybug, but she only shrugged helplessly.

"So, what's your name, and where's the real Chat Noir?" Ella stepped back and put one hand to her chin.

"I'm… not allowed to tell you either of those things," Tigereye frowned.

"Damn. You'd hope the newbie would be dumb enough to let _something_ slip." Etta said from a ways away, lining her camera up for another photograph.

The line knocked Luka's confidence down a peg, and then the flash hurt his eyes for an insult-injury combo.

"So are you a temporary stand-in or a permanent replacement?" Ella questioned.

"T-temporary," Tigereye replied, rubbing his sore eyes.

"And what exactly is your relationship to the real Chat Noir?" the teen persisted.

"Am I allowed to tell you that?" he protested, getting frustrated.

"No, Tigereye, it's not a good idea to tell them stuff like that." Ladybug assured from a few feet over, and gave him a smile. "You're holding up very well."

A smile crept onto his face. More flashes came from the camera.

"Are you dating Ladybug?" Ella squinted suspiciously.

"No." Tigereye pouted, unimpressed.

"Why not?"

Luka wrestled with the absolute inappropriateness of this question, and it showed. He gave his interrogator a look of sour disbelief.

"Wh- _why_ would you even ask that?" he demanded. "What does that have to do with being a superhero?"

"Romantic drama has been a huge part of Ladybug and Chat Noir's story for five years," Ella retorted. "All of the superheroes had some kind of romantic trouble."

"For Rena Rouge and Carapace it was their illicit relationship, for Queen Bee it was her catastrophic attempts to woo Ladybug," the twin behind her got down on her knee for some lower-angled shots. "And Ladybug and Chat Noir' feelings for each other have been a sore spot for years."

Ladybug had gone red and gotten uncomfortable, and Luka got worried.

"So what's your deal, Tigereye? Where do you fit in the romance troubles map?" Ella began to circle him again. "Are we seeing a love triangle pop up between you and the OG supers?"

"No." he replied, offended and angry.

"Are you, perhaps, secretly in love with Chat Noir, and can't bring yourself to tell his real partner for fear of causing tension?" the twin pressed.

"If I was, why would I tell you?" Tigereye asked flatly, giving up on being listened to.

"We saw that little moment between you and Carapace, after you were resurrected," Etta chimed in moving a few feet to her left. "Are you in love with Carapace, and only abstaining from a relationship with him because of his past?"

Luka dragged his hands down his face and didn't bother replying. He just looked back to Ladybug.

She looked anxious. She was _playing with her hair_ , of all things.

He decided it was time to go.

"Excuse me, mister substitute," Ella clicked at him, the noise incredibly grating. "I am interviewing you."

"The interview just ended." Luka snipped, ignoring the teen completely, and walked over to his red-spotted partner.

She blinked up at him.

"C'mon, Little Lady," he said gently, taking her hands and turning and crouching before her and wrapping them around his neck. "Let's get you home."

Another camera flash went off, but he ignored it, more focused on making sure Ladybug was secure on his back.

"This okay?" Tigereye checked, nervously placing his hands on her thighs.

"Yeah," Ladybug said softly, holding tight.

"Stay out of trouble, kids," he told the twins, but didn't look directly at them for fear of being delayed by a blinding flash. "Cause I really don't want to have to come back and rescue you."

And then, holding Ladybug's legs tight, he leapt straight up.

===

"You… don't actually know where I live, do you?" Ladybug asked in his ear as he coasted above the Notre Dame.

"No," he shook his head. "I just wanted to let you know why I wanted to take off. I'll drop you at the school and we'll split up there."

"Oh, good," she sighed, and settled a little. "… and, thank you, Tiger."

"You needed out," Tigereye gave her legs the lightest of squeezes. "I was gonna get you out, one way or another."

Ladybug blushed and smiled. She was actually enjoying being flown. The breeze from this high up was cool on her skin in spite of the hot day, the flaps of the feathered wings were dull and rhythmic instead of continuous and droning like hers, and Tigereye's grip keeping her secure was unexpectedly gentle.

_Tigereye_ was unexpectedly gentle.

All day, he had been nothing but kind and considerate and endearing.

For… most of the last few weeks, he'd been nothing but those things.

Even when he'd accidentally spied her undressing last week, instead of taking advantage, he'd looked away, and helped her when she couldn't do up her buttons, and picked up her strap. He'd even _apologized_ , despite there being nothing to apologize for.

And when he'd offered to let her change out of the distressingly short ice dress, simply because she looked uncomfortable, it had surprised her.

She had felt vulnerable and anxious since the close call with the boys barely a half-hour before, but Tigereye had soothed it with one simple expression of concern.

Sure, she knew he wasn't completely soft. He fought like an expert, much more capably than she or Chat ever had, and it intimidated her. Whenever his patience was sapped, he got a tired, angry look in his eyes that made her slightly nervous. And he tended to get flustered around Nino, which concerned her a little, because it raised questions she didn't want to ask.

But, altogether, Tigereye had been… wonderful.

She still smiled when she remembered how he had played with the stray cats for half an hour, seemingly for no reason other than just to play.

Marinette's heart stuttered as she realised what was happening. She was feeling the same feeling she'd felt when Adrien handed her the umbrella on the second day of school. The same feeling she'd felt when Luka had played music for her for the second time, the day before Patineur.

The same feeling she'd felt when Nino walked across the city to her house at four in the morning, just to sit with her while she cried about Alya, even after everything Alya had put him through.

The same feeling she'd felt when she heard Chat Noir talk about her, plain old Marinette, to Ladybug for the first time.

Marinette knew this feeling well, by now, but knowing it didn't make feeling it any easier.

She was falling in love.

Again.

She moved her head to look at Tigereye, watched the ruffled green-dyed hair flicker in the wind, watched the twitching kitty ears, felt his hands on her thighs, and tightened her grip on him ever-so-slightly.

Why did she fall for every gentle boy she met?

What on Earth was she going to do with herself?

"Aright, Ladybug," Tigereye spoke, snapping her from her thoughts. "Here we are."

He moved his body slowly into a landing position, and the shift in gravity was slightly nauseating.

The jolt as he landed hard on his knees worried her, but if he had any complaints, he didn’t voice them.

She lowered herself off his back and stepped away.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" he asked as he stood and rolled his shoulders.

There he went, being considerate again. Marinette thought she might die.

"Ye-yeah," she stuttered. "I'll be alright, Tiger."

"Okay," he nodded. "Are we going to do a patrol tonight?"

"Uh -" Ladybug made a split second decision. "Yes. Please."

Tigereye raised an eyebrow.

"Are you _sure_ you're alright, Ladybug?" he asked quietly, stepping closer. "You seem a little off today."

"I… it's been a bit of a weird day for me," she admitted, blushing under his kind gaze. "But I'm gonna be fine, promise."

"Alright, but you know, if you need help with anything, you can let me know, okay?" Tigereye prodded. "If I can help you, I want to."

Ladybug just went red.

"Thank you, Tiger," she whispered.

He smiled softly at her.

"I'm off, Little Lady," he said, turning. "I'll fly some of the way and run the rest so people can't track."

"Good work." she held up a thumbs up.

"See you tonight." he leapt into the air and did an impressive spin before disappearing into the distance.

Ladybug just put her hands to her face and sat down a moment to reflect on her life until today.

===

Luka landed about a block away from his apartment building, expecting to walk the rest of the way.

" _Detransformation._ "

The wings disappeared in a flash of light, but he was still transformed. Luka got worried.

" _De-detransformation,_ " he repeated, mildly afraid.

This time, he really did turn back to normal.

The fear didn't disappear, though, because the moment Plagg reappeared nearby, the little kwami came up and smacked him in the face.

Luka was stung. By the little red mark physically, of course, but emotionally as well. He had thought that the kwami had warmed to him by now.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Plagg screeched, and Luka only blinked.

"Wh-what?" he breathed, terrified.

"BLOW YOURSELF UP!" the kwami screamed. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"I HAD NO CHOICE?!" Luka yelped back.

Plagg only screamed in frustration and flew headfirst into the side of the closest bin in the alley. It began to burn and melt, the plastic flaming and bubbling as it mixed with whatever garbage had been inside it and sunk into a foul-smelling puddle on the ground.

"What the _fuck_!" Luka burst out. "Why would you do that?!"

"Because Cataclysming a person is against the rules." Plagg snapped.

Luka was at his wit's end.

" _What_ the _fuck_ is your _**problem**_?!" he trod close, staring down the black spirit.

"I HATE YOU!" the kwami yelled. "GO AWAY!"

"I CAN'T!" Luka yelled back. "YOU'RE STUCK WITH ME!"

Plagg only hissed at him. Luka hissed back without thinking, then shook his head in disbelief.

" _Why are you like this_?!" he demanded. "Why do you hate me?!"

"You wouldn't understand." Plagg replied, turning away from him.

Luka liked to hope that he was an understanding person. He did his best to be calm and patient and adaptable, and, obviously, he didn't always succeed, but he tried.

But Luka had been through a lot this past month. He'd been beaten up, yelled at, threatened, insulted, ignored, lied to, and even had two serious attempts made on his life.

Luka had been attacked in one way or another. Every. Single. Day.

And, sure, this just meant that the last month had just been his second year of collège all over again, but that also meant that Luka was feeling the worst he had felt in seven years.

And Luka might have been strong enough to hide it from Marinette and Adrien and even Nino in the better, more positive, calmer times, but none of them were here. And this was not a calm or positive situation.

Luka's patience ran out.

" _ **Try. Me.**_ " Luka growled.

"Not even the most long lived guardians ever truly fathom this." Plagg waved a flipper dismissively. "There's no point in even trying."

"How do you know if you won't try?" the young man asked incredulously.

"It's a whole lot of complicated stuff." the spirit repeated, looking out of the alleyway, clearly expecting Luka to give up and leave. "You won't understand."

And, honestly, Luka thought to himself, maybe he wouldn't. Luka was well aware that he wasn't the smartest man. He wasn't the smartest, or the strongest, or the best musician, or the best at anything.

But he was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Plagg was being irrational, and Luka wasn't going to stand for it.

He'd spent years unlearning all his own irrationalities, and if a twenty-one year old human could learn to meditate out his doubts and anxieties instead of punching a bully in self-defence, Luka decided, then a tiny immortal cat-god could give explaining his feelings a try.

"Well, we're not going home until we get past this." Luka took a breath and sat down where he stood. "So, either get over yourself, or we both starve."

Plagg turned on him and zipped up to his face.

"I don't really need food." the cat informed. "You're only going to kill yourself."

"Okay. Guess it _is_ a couple years overdue by now." Luka mused darkly.

"Don't say that." Plagg scowled.

"Oh, why not?" he snipped. "What do you care if I die? You hate me."

" _I don’t want to change hands **again**_!" the kwami screeched.

Luka was taken a little off-guard by this, but he did consider it progress.

"Adrien's almost out of the cast," Luka reminded, eyes on the floor of the alley. "You'll only have to wait a few days and you can go back to the way things were."

Plagg baulked.

"It'll be like I never even existed." Luka said, almost to himself, and he could feel years-old feelings begin to bubble up from where he thought he'd laid them to rest.

"No, it won't." Plagg shook his little head, getting quiet. "You've already changed things too much."

"What?" the young man asked.

"I can't… I can't explain it." the spirit insisted. "You won't understand."

" _Stop_ saying that," Luka demanded, hands balling into fists. "And just fucking _try_!"

Plagg flinched.

"When Adrien handed me the ring, did I say I wouldn't help Ladybug just cause I didn't know how to be a superhero?" Luka asked. "No! I went out there and _tried_ , because I had to!"

The kwami said nothing.

"Did I know that explosion would defeat the akuma?" he gestured. "No! But I tried it anyway, because I had to!"

Plagg looked around the alley.

"Do I want to be sitting in this fucking alley trying to talk to you, even though you've been nothing but a little asshole?" Luka put his hands to his face. "No. But I'm trying anyway, because I have to."

Luka had been trying to make a point, but he felt like maybe it had turned into him being the one trying to explain his feelings.

"I have to work with you." he said, almost just to himself. "We have to work together, even if it's just for another couple of days. So if there's a problem, we need to fix it."

He looked back to the little god.

"We need to _try_." Luka swallowed. "I'm trying. You have to, too."

Plagg's response to this was to sigh and slowly float to sit on the floor before him.

"It's gonna take a while." the kwami said. "And you're not going to understand some of it."

"Just-" Luka almost got mad, but he reminded himself that he had to be good, and closed his eyes and breathed. "Just… just try. That's all I'm asking."

"Fine."

Plagg went silent for a time, thinking. Before Luka could ask if he was going to say anything, he spoke.

"You know I'm a god, right?" the black cat asked.

"Hard to forget." Luka replied.

"Do you know what I am the god of?" Plagg asked.

Luka paused.

"…Death?" he asked.

Plagg _laughed_.

"You humans and your death deities." he shook his head. "You have the strangest ways of rationalizing natural concepts."

Luka didn't quite understand that, so he tried to push the conversation forward.

"So what are you the god of, then?" he asked.

"I am the god of 'end'." Plagg replied. "Tikki, Ladybug's kwami, she is my opposite, the other half of the universe. She is 'begin'. She is 'fresh', she is 'start'. _I_ am 'finish'. I am 'decay'. I am 'end'."

"Alright," Luka thought he understood that. "But what does that have to do with why you hate me?"

"Because when you're a god of something," the spirit continued. "You tend to know everything about the thing you're a god of."

"So… you know where things are supposed to end?" his holder guessed.

"Yes."

"I don't get how that makes you hate me."

Plagg took in a deep breath.

"Do you know how long I have been with Adrien?"

"… six years?" Luka frowned, not sure where Plagg was going with this.

"Yes." the kwami looked out the alley, up to the sky. "That's much longer than most holders get to keep their miraculous for. We're given for a purpose. Usually completing it doesn’t take this long. But Adrien and Ladybug have been doing their best…"

Luka still wasn't sure where Plagg was going, but this was the most personal thing he'd said yet, and that felt important.

"And I'd never say it to their faces, but I love those kids." Plagg said, very quietly. "So you can imagine how it felt when I realised I knew how their time was going to end."

Luka's face opened up in shock.

"Adrien-" he choked, sitting forward in distress. "Adrien's going to die?!"

"Well, yes, you all do." Plagg blinked.

Luka almost hit him.

"WHEN?" Luka demanded, snatching up the kwami and begging. "HOW?"

Plagg blinked.

"NO, FUCK YOU," Luka searched his tiny cat face. "TELL ME WHEN HE'S GOING TO DIE! I NEED TO STOP IT! I DON'T WANT ADRIEN TO DIE!"

"Relax." Plagg replied calmly. "You already changed it."

Luka froze, dumbstruck.

He blinked, and let go of the kwami.

"H… how?" Luka put one hand to his head. "Wh… what? How?"

"When you moved house." Plagg said, crossing his little flipper paws.

Luka didn't understand, and it must have showed.

"When Adrien lost his temper and ran away," the black spirit spoke softly. "That was originally the beginning of his end."

The young man wearing the ring got scared.

"He was going to be mad all day, and go home, and fight back," Plagg floated down and landed on Luka's crossed legs, speaking in a way Luka had never heard him speak. "And he was going to defeat his father, defeat Papillon. And then he and Marinette were going to have this… this _brief_ and _beautiful_ love affair… and then he was going to die."

Luka swallowed.

"But when you moved, you told him he could visit whenever he wanted." the kwami quoted. "So, instead of going home to fight his father when he should have, he went to you. And then… you know the rest."

They sat there in silence a moment, the conversation beginning to seriously affect the boy.

"Me. Moving house." Luka blinked. "Saved Adrien's life."

"Yeah."

Luka opened and closed his mouth a few times, lost for something to say.

"One little decision changes the course of history," Plagg shrugged. "Happens all the time."

"So… so what now?" his holder asked weakly. "If that's not what's going to happen, what's going to happen now?"

Plagg took a breath.

"I don't know." he admitted. "You've gone so far off-script that I don't know what to expect anymore."

That daunted Luka just the slightest amount. And then it occurred to him that none of this explained why Plagg was mad - until it hit him.

"Oh my god." Luka realised. "You're scared."

"I'm not _scared_ ," Plagg switched to offended almost instantly. "I'm a god."

"You're scared." Luka gave an awed smile. "You don't know what's going to happen, and you're scared."

Plagg only scoffed.

"Plagg, it's okay to be scared," the boy told him incredulously. "Just… don't take it out on people."

"Are you trying to give _me_ ," Plagg looked him dead in the eyes. "A trillion year old being, _advice_?"

"Yeah," Luka shrugged, still reeling a little. "You can learn anything from anyone. I learnt stuff from the kids I raised all the time."

Plagg seemed struck by that sentence.

"It's okay to be scared," Luka reached to pet his little head with one finger, but thought better of it as Plagg gave him a warning look. "And it's okay to not know what's going to happen. Because most of the time, it's not gonna be that bad, and if it is, you can get through it."

The kwami gave him an unreadable look.

" _C'est la vie _," he gave an enthusiastic shrug. "It's gonna be okay."__

Plagg looked at him for a slightly uncomfortable amount of time.

"Whatever." the black cat sighed.

It wasn't much, but Luka knew that it was about as positive a response as he was going to get.

An immense weight rolled off the shoulders of his soul, and he sighed and smiled.

"Let's go home." he stood up, and Plagg shifted.

Before he stepped to the entrance of the alley, Luka had one more question.

"Plagg."

"What."

"… Would you change it back?" he asked, not turning to see the spirit.

"What?"

"You're scared cause now you don't know what's gonna happen," Luka mused. "But would you change it back to what it was before?"

Dead silence for a good ten seconds, and then a single word.

"No."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, you heard luka right, adriens cast comes off in only a few days from this chapter. this fic has probably another 10-20 chapters in it, and then there will be a shorter sequel to tie up some plot loose ends, and then probably a bunch of tiny oneshots from the same canon bc theyre all in my head
> 
> also i feel like i have to apologize since it feels like luka takes much of the spotlight in this fic. there are reasons for this - hes the reason for ladybug and plagg to explain lore, hes the character that needs the most development since adrien and marinette are already well known bc theyre the main charaters of the show - but i do want to say sorry if it feels like i focus on him too much in this story
> 
> uhh the rasmus is a real band and they actually have some songs that fit ml characters and i like them a lot
> 
> next time we have nino scenes and some lukadrien having a good Talk about things


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for this chapter: some emotionally heavy goodbyes, an extended joke about heaven and hell, a discussion of death, a description of a minor anxiety episode, a more intense discussion of death, and a minor reference to gunshots
> 
> stay safe kiddos
> 
> also theres some sexey stuff yall know how it be by now

After rushing to find the right building and crawling up the side and finding the right window, Carapace figured he'd make it wiht a little time to spare, only to encounter a problem when his shield got stuck in the window frame.

"Dude." he beckoned the stunned roommate gaping at him. "Little help?"

Adrien shook his head rapidly to shake the shock and moved and pushed down on his shoulder, making the shield scrape into a diagonal position and allowing Nino to contort his way into the room.

"Thanks man," Carapace said, rolling onto his back on a part of the bed where Adrien's leg wasn't at risk of being squished under his weight and taking a second to rest.

"You're, uh… you're welcome, mister Carapace, sir," Adrien blinked. "But, um… wh-why are you here?"

"Dude," the green hero sat up. "It's me."

"Wh… who?" the young man replied, now more confused.

"Wh- Luka didn't tell you?" Carapace raised his eyebrows.

"…Tell me… what?" Adrien asked nervously.

Nino smiled and shook his head, and tossed a little box that had been clipped to his belt gently onto the side table.

"Points for consistency." he huffed, amused, and then his miraculous timed out.

"NINO!" Adrien yelped, and smacked his hand to his mouth in fear.

"Yeah, it's me." Nino nodded, giving Wayzz a pat.

"Oh my god, so many things make sense now." Adrien moved the hand to his forehead.

"Yeah, that's how it feels." his friend nodded again. "You gonna be okay?"

"P-probably?" the blond replied weakly. "It's not like it would be if I found out Marinette and Ladybug were the same person or anything."

Nino tried not to sweat.

"No, no, you're totally right…" he cleared his throat. "So, how are you, man? We haven't had a chance to see each other in a while."

Adrien opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out, and then he closed his mouth and furrowed his brow and gave a little sigh.

"You okay?"

"I…" Adrien's cheeks went a little pink. "Mm."

"Wanna talk about it?" Nino offered. "We haven't had any Bro Time in ages."

"That would… would be nice, actually," the bedridden boy admitted.

Nino crawled over to lie beside Adrien and snuggled him. Adrien accepted happily.

"Mm," he beamed, nuzzling Nino's chest. "Nino Hugs are the best."

They simply cuddled for a moment or two, until Adrien asked another question.

"Nino, why are you in your underwear?"

"It's my day off and the akuma took me by surprise."

"Ah."

A little more quiet, and Adrien gave a happy hum. Suddenly, Nino sniffed in the air.

"Dude, have you been jacking off?" he asked.

"S-sorry," Adrien went bright red and looked away.

"No, it's fine, man, it's normal," Nino replied. "But, fuck, if the smell is this strong you must have really been going at it."

"T…twice" the blond mumbled.

"Twice," Nino gave him an incredulous look. " _Why_?"

"Well…" Adrien's cheeks went warm again. "Last night, uh… Luka found out about my… uh, Special Words."

"Oh, shit," Nino chuckled. "Well? Did you guys get it on?"

"No…" the blonde shook his head quickly. "He-he offered, and I wanted to, I did, but I was too scared…"

"Aw, dude," his cuddle-buddy gave him a squeeze. "You don’t have to be. Luka knows what he's doing and he loves you a lot."

"Yeah, I know," Adrien laughed nervously. "I'm just… still a little…"

"I gotchu bro." Nino ruffled his hair and gave his forehead a kiss.

"And… and then… Mari took a bath earlier…" he began.

"Bubble bath?" Nino guessed.

"How d'y-" Adrien squinted in suspicious confusion.

"I've known Marinette since we were babies." his best friend interrupted again. "I know stuff even Alya didn't."

"Right…" Adrien cleared his throat. "Yeah, a bubble bath. And… and I could hear her…"

"Oof," Nino offered. "That's an instant death sentence."

"Yeah," the boy with the broken leg murmured. "I couldn't help myself. But _then_ … she came in."

"Oh?" his companion smiled expectantly.

"And she was _naked_." Adrien whispered dramatically, as if he himself didn’t believe it. "Well, she was in a towel, but _still_."

"And?" Nino urged.

"Well, we cuddled," the blond replied. "Because Luka told us to ask for a cuddle if we got sad after alone time-"

"Good. Solid advice." the boy snuggling him added.

"And… and then…" Adrien went pink in the cheeks and swallowed. "We started kissing, and…"

"Did you and Mari bang?" Nino seemed all too excited about the prospect.

"No." Adrien countered, perhaps too quickly. "I… we wanted to, but I… with my leg, I…"

"You _do_ know she'll enjoy it just as much if she rides your dick, right?"

Adrien made a little muffled squeak.

"It just- I just…" he stuttered. "It doesn't seem fair, you know? I want to be able to…"

"Pound her into the mattress?" Nino offered smugly.

" _Nino_!" Adrien complained, and buried his face in Nino's chest.

Nino just laughed.

"Gonna make me horny again..." Adrien grumbled.

"Aw, dude, I'm sorry," his best friend teased, and then got the slightest bit genuine. "If you want, I can help you out."

Adrien tensed up instantly.

"Don't joke about that…" he said weakly, pulling back a little, evidently flustered.

"Sorry." Nino apologized softly and gave his cheek a gentle smooch. "Sorry."

Adrien gave a sad little whine and shuffled a bit in the hug.

His partner saw his chance and reached up to scritch under Adrien's chin. Startled, his green eyes blew wide, and loud purring erupted from his chest.

"Let's change the subject then," Nino smiled, continuing.

"Uh," Adrien breathed heavily, his eyes fluttering shut, and subconsciously brought up a hand to touch to Nino's arm. "Y-yeah, okay, uh… why did you come h-here, anyway?"

"Had to give you guys that," Nino pointed at the little box on the table.

"Mm." Adrien nodded slightly, not really caring to move.

"And… cause I have to go somewhere," his petter replied, sighing and losing his smile. "And I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye."

Adrien fought his instinctually resting eyes to look at Nino's face.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

"I can't tell you, man." Nino shook his head. "But I promise, I'm gonna come back."

Adrien blinked, and then looked around some.

"Do you have to go?"

"Yeah, I do."

The boy with the broken leg made a little grumble in protest and hugged tighter.

"Yeah, I don't want me to leave, either," Nino nuzzled him again. "But I have to."

"I know." Adrien mumbled.

"Hey," his best friend beckoned softly, and nudged his face up to meet his gaze.

Adrien was trying to hide the pout, but his trembling lip and not-quite-dry eyes were enough to give him away.

Nino gave him a weak smile and then a gentle kiss.

The cat-boy was dumbstruck.

"I love you, man." Nino whispered to him.

"I love you, Nino." Adrien slowly went red.

"I'm gonna come back to you." Nino hugged him tighter and kissed his cheek. "I promise."

Adrien made a little moan in the back of his throat.

The sound of the front door opening and closing and a relieved breath drifted through the open bedroom door.

"That’s Luka." Nino sighed. "I gotta go talk to him."

"Saying goodbye to him, too?" Adrien asked meekly.

"Yeah," Nino nodded and nuzzled Adrien's cheek. "Should also ask him how the interrogation went."

"Etta and Ella?" Adrien guessed, exhaustion in his tone.

"Yep."

Adrien's phone, squished between their stomachs, sounded an email notification. Adrien fished for it, turned it on and blinked at the Ladyblog update.

"Oh boy," he muttered.

"Yeah."

"I'll watch this, you go talk to him." Adrien told Nino, opening his phone.

"Yeah." Nino replied, drawing his attention again with a finger. "Bye, man. Love you."

Nino kissed Adrien again, and then, leaving him stunned, disentangled from him and got up to make for the door.

===

Luka, hands shaking slightly, opened the fridge door to get himself some juice.

Plagg, who had phased through it only a minute or so before, sat with another kwami on the top shelf, sharing a box of camembert.

Luka was too used to being surprised to be shocked.

"Hey there." he said quietly.

"Ah, you must be Luka!" the green kwami gave a little wave with his little flipper. "I've heard much about you. I am Wayzz. Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"Hey…" Luka blinked and gave a slight nod and a little wave, and then grabbed his juice and slowly closed the door.

He turned around to grab a glass and almost jumped out of his skin, an involuntary yelp thankfully muffled by his closed mouth bursting from his throat.

Nino had appeared, and leant casually against the kitchen bar.

And he was mostly naked.

Not a word was spoken, but a lot of blinking occurred as Luka looked his best friend up and down over and over.

"N-N-N-Nino?" Luka whispered, thinking maybe he'd gone insane. "Why are you here? Why are you naked?"

Nino chuckled at him.

"Oh my god, I really did die." Luka put the juice carton on the bench behind him, and then put his hand to his head.

"No, we brought you back." Nino stood up to get closer. "You're just having a rough day."

"I died and this is…" Luka mumbled weakly to himself. "Okay, honestly, this could be Heaven _or_ Hell, I can't tell yet."

Nino smiled and hugged him.

"Ladybug was being cute, Plagg was nice to me and Nino is undressed and hugging me, it's Heaven." Luka kept mumbling, in shock.

"How'd the interview go?" Nino asked, rolling his eyes.

"Awful." Luka replied, hugging back, hands still shaking. "They asked a lot of terrible questions and made Ladybug sad."

"Yeah, they do that," Nino sighed. "But, you know, if you hadn't made yourself into a Kentucky Fried Crow, you might have got up in time to make it out of there before they showed."

"You too?" Luka whined. "Everyone's giving me shit for that… oh, that’s… this is Hell. Fantastic."

Nino chuckled.

"But I had to, I… am I gonna be saying that for the rest of eternity?" Luka asked, rubbing his cheek on Nino's bicep.

"No." Nino pulled back and brought his hands up to make Luka meet his gaze. "I know you had to."

Luka was struck by this.

"Look, we don't like it," Nino spoke softly. "But… we've lost _this_ motherfucker-" he nodded his head in the direction of the bedroom, clearly meaning Adrien, "- enough times to know that it's gonna happen whether we like it or not."

Luka looked in the same direction with an unreadable expression, but Nino nudged his cheek back gently, hungrier for his attention than he'd care to admit.

And, for better or worse, Luka was all-too-prepared to give Nino as much attention as he could.

"We know we can't avoid it." Nino told him, secretly relishing the look in the blue eyes, and hugged him again. "Just, please, for the love of god, don't do it when you're not indestructible?"

"Promise." Luka breathed, and then whispered. "Heaven."

Nino let Luka cling happily to him like a baby possum for a few moments more.

"So, I came to tell you something," Nino began.

Luka only hummed a questioning hum and shifted to look up at him.

"I'm going away for a bit." Nino said, the pain of having to say it tugging at his heart.

"Oh." Luka let go of the hug, looking… afraid. "Where?"

Nino subtly raised and shook the wrist his miraculous was on, a movement not unusual for someone who frequently wore bracelets and occasionally fiddled with them, but an obvious enough signal for his best friend to pick up on.

"I can't tell you, man." he whispered.

Luka noticeably deflated.

"Are you coming back?" the older boy asked.

"'Course I am." Nino assured. "I really can't leave you guys for long."

Luka gave the little smile Nino had only seen a few times, but loved dearly.

"But, in case I don't come back the same," Nino got close again. "I wanted to tell you that I love you."

Luka's eyes blew wide.

"I do." Nino whispered. "And everything's a mess right now, but I love you, man."

"I love you, too." Luka breathed, in awe, and opened his mouth to say more words, but Nino shushed him with a finger.

"I know you're gonna give me the whole ' _but if you don't feel the same, that's okay_ ' speech, so just…" Nino smiled. "Hold that thought. Wait till I get back, okay?"

Luka made an expression like he'd been crawling through a desert and Nino had just offered him ice water.

Nino chuckled again and shook his head, and leaned down to kiss Luka.

Nino had never kissed Luka before a few days ago, but now that he had, he was almost desperate to kiss Luka again and again.

He felt a little ashamed about it, since he hadn't kissed anyone for quite a while before that, and it was entirely possible that he was just lonely and affection-starved, and thus, kissing Luka - and Adrien earlier - may well have been taking a little advantage of them.

Because Nino knew that, for better or worse, Luka would give Nino as many kisses as Nino wanted.

And give Luka did.

He was obviously conflicted, his clinging hands and tense shoulders said so, but he was definitely not holding back in his answers to Nino's kisses.

Nino gave in to his instincts and let himself press against his best friend, pushing them back to the bench behind them.

Luka broke away with the slight jolt, red and panting up at him. The confusion and muddled hope in Luka's blue eyes pained Nino more than he already had been by having the conversation.

"Sorry, man," Nino hugged him again, trying to be soothing. "I'm giving mixed messages, I know."

"It's fine," Luka hugged back. "As long as you're okay."

Nino sighed a little sigh and smiled weakly, and brought up a finger to scritch under Luka's chin.

With an extremely startled expression, Luka began to purr.

" _Yesss_ …" Nino chuckled in satisfaction.

Luka's eyes fluttered closed, and his cheeks went redder, and he leant into Nino even more.

Nino relished in it for a moment.

He knew he should be making this little batch of goodbyes much faster, but he didn't want to go.

"I should go say goodbye to Marinette…" he sighed, still stroking Luka's jaw.

"You're leaving now…?" Luka mumbled breathily. "This really is Hell…"

Nino rolled his eyes, filling with affection, and attacked the other side of Luka's face with more kisses.

"Oh, Heaven, Heaven." Luka stuttered under Nino's borderline aggressive smooches. "Definitely Heaven…"

"Dude, you're not dead," Nino laughed as he kissed his neck. "You gave it a damn good shot, though."

"You wouldn't be kissing me if I was alive," Luka countered breathily.

"You wouldn't be hard if you were dead." Nino teased, and slid his hand down Luka's side to his hip, drawing attention to the arousal in the front of the dark grey jeans.

"Nope, Hell." Luka groaned and squirmed in shame. "I'm in Hell."

"Guess I should go before I make it worse," Nino sighed and gave Luka a final kiss on the cheek.

"S-sorry," Luka whispered, basically having given up on life.

"Nah, man, it's my bad." Nino shook his head and slowly stepped backward. "I don't know what's wrong with me today, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, promise." Luka immediately gripped the counter for support and put his other hand to his head.

"Drink your juice, bro." Nino gave him a half hug. "Love you."

"Love you." Luka tried to hide his face with his hand, bashful, and once Nino was a few steps away, turned with shaking arms and reached for a glass.

===

Marinette had sat on the roof of the school for some time. Then she'd made her way home, come through the window, and sat on her bed.

She still hadn't gotten dressed.

She was too anxious.

Her earlier encounter with the boys, the ice dress, the explosion, the interview, Tigereye, all of it weighed on her mind. She couldn't bring herself to watch the interview on the Ladyblog, or face the boys, or think about how she was going to handle tonight.

She was too anxious to even move.

"Mari?" came a knock on her door.

"Yeah?" she swallowed, curling up to hide herself.

Nino peeked in the door.

"Nino?" Marinette blinked. "What are you-?"

"We're leaving for the airport as soon as I get home." he walked in and pushed the door mostly closed.

"Already?" she whispered, a little upset.

"Yeah." Nino stepped over and sat beside her.

Marinette pouted and turned away to play with her hair.

"I'll be back in a couple days."

"I know, I just…"

Nino sighed and pulled her into his lap with almost no effort. She gave a little squeak of surprise, and then hugged him.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Nettie." he gave her a gentle squeeze. "But I'll be back."

"I know, I know." she sighed. "Just… one question, Nino."

"Mm?"

" _Why_ are you naked?" Marinette asked, tone clearly mocking their earlier interaction.

"I'm wearing underwear." Nino countered playfully.

"That’s not the point." she booped his nose with a delicate pale finger.

"Ha ha, very funny."

A little silence. Nino still didn't want to leave yet, and Marinette didn't want to let go of him yet.

"You haven't called me Nettie in years." she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You stopped calling me Ni-Ni, so I figured you didn't want me to anymore."

"I stopped calling you Ni-Ni cause I thought nicknames would be a…" Marinette went a little pink. "You know, a boyfriend-girlfriend thing, and… you were dating… someone who wasn’t me…"

"No girlfriend can replace you." Nino reasoned.

She only giggled and he never wanted to let her go again.

But he had to.

"Listen, Nettie…" he took a breath. "I came to say goodbye."

"That sounds awfully dramatic for a four-and-a-half-day trip," she answered.

"I don't know, I'm…" Nino huffed. "I'm kinda going into this blind, so…"

"You're scared?" Marinette asked softly.

"A little."

"It's gonna be okay, Ni-Ni." she snuggled into his chest.

He wasn't convinced, but he appreciated it.

"Marinette, I love you."

She looked at him like she was surprised, if only a little.

"I love you, too, Nino." she said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I love you," Nino repeated. "Like, more than you thought I did."

Marinette's mouth dropped into a little 'o' and he wanted to kiss her soft pink lips, but given how the last two interactions had gone, he wasn't sure if kissing her was a good idea.

"And I'm not trying to get in the way of you and the guys, I swear," Nino assured. "I want you to get together, I really do."

Marinette's cheeks went from pink to red.

"In fact, I'm kinda hoping…" he trailed off, stopping himself. "Nevermind. Look, Nettie…"

He took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles.

"I love you." Nino said softly. "But I gotta go now."

"I know." Marinette breathed. "And, I love you, too. The same. A lot."

She shifted upwards and hugged him tight.

He hugged back tight, and accidentally dislodged the towel.

"Eep!" Marinette tugged it back up, trying to hide her chest.

"Sorry!" they said at the same time, and then had a chuckle together about it.

"And… does today mean I can stop pretending I don’t know who you are now?" Nino asked, very quietly.

Marinette rolled her eyes and sighed and nodded.

"Thanks."

"Yeah."

She looked up, suddenly shy for some reason, and gave his cheek a kiss.

"Thanks for coming to say goodbye, Nino." she hugged again.

"You think these guys would survive me leaving if I didn’t?" Nino nodded in the direction of the boy's bedroom.

Marinette laughed and nodded.

"Alright…" Nino whispered to himself, trying to make himself go.

"Go on," Marinette twisted out of his lap and back to the bed. "Get outta here before you get too sappy to leave."

Nino nodded and stood.

"And be safe, please." she added quietly.

"You bet, dudette." he replied as he walked out to get Wayzz.

===

Luka only blinked as Carapace waved and dropped out of his loungeroom window, waving back too late to be seen.

Today had indeed been rough.

He put his glass in the sink and the juice away, and went into the bedroom to talk to Adrien.

"Hey, kitten." Luka pushed the door shut and scratched in his dark hair and sat on the bed.

Adrien was on his phone, watching something that was making him upset. He looked up at him from the phone screen. His eyes were wide, and his face had paled, as though he was being haunted.

"Whoa, sunshine, what's wrong?" Luka got scared.

"You… y-you blew yourself up?" Adrien breathed weakly.

"Yeah." Luka sighed. "I had to."

Adrien put his phone down, but kept the haunted look as he turned his gaze away.

"I'm sorry." Luka swallowed.

"No, I am." Adrien took a breath, and then sniffed.

"What? Why?" his roommate pleaded.

"Cause I understand now." Adrien's voice broke. "Why you got mad at me."

That caught Luka off guard.

"Nino told me you got interviewed, and we heard you come home, so I knew you survived," Adrien wiped his cheek. "But when I watched the footage, I still thought you were gone."

"Kitten…" Luka turned and squeezed up beside him and rub his back in comfort, and handed him a tissue from beside the bed. "I'm here, it's okay."

"I know that," Adrien blew his nose, holding together very well for someone who was still crying. "But before Ladybug and Carapace found you, I was still thinking-"

Adrien's nose made a little trumpet sound as he blew it again, and he took a few deep, shaky breaths.

"What would I tell your mom?" Adrien sniffed. "What do I tell Juleka?"

That hit Luka as hard as the chunk of metal had.

"What do I say to Marinette? To-to Nino?" Adrien shook his head and swallowed. "To August, or your boss, y-your landlord?"

The blond put his head in his hands.

"' _I'm sorry, I got Luka killed because I broke my leg and asked him to become a superhero for me_ '?" Adrien offered. "How? How could I look them in the eye and say that? How could I…"

He sniffed again and Luka swallowed.

"I figured it never mattered." the younger superhero admitted, wiping his eyes. "That… that it wouldn't matter if I died. But it does. I understand that now."

"I get it, too." Luka said softly, handing him another tissue.

Adrien raised his eyebrows at him in questioning as he blew his nose again.

"I didn't get it till today." Luka shook his head. "But… I was standing there, and the akuma was about to shoot me point-blank, and I saw them, behind me, in the ice. And they were stuck. Ladybug was untransformed and Nino was protecting her and neither of them could do anything, and…"

Luka took a deep breath.

"There was nothing else I could do." he said. "Nothing. And even if there was, there was no time to figure it out."

Adrien sniffed again.

"Sometimes doing the right thing hurts." Luka nodded. "I always knew that. I guess I just don't like the idea of _you_ getting hurt."

Luka took Adrien's hand and held it, and rested his head on his roommate's shoulder.

"But I get it now." he said. "I get why you do it."

Adrien nuzzled him softly.

"Just… please don't die for good." Luka pleaded quietly.

"I won't. I won't." Adrien assured in whispers. "I promise."

"Good." Luka kissed his cheek.

Adrien replied with a kiss to his lips.

"You taste like orange juice," he chuckled.

"And you taste like…" Luka licked his lips, and then his eyes went wide and cheeks went red, and he looked at his roommate with an expression of surprise.

"Sorry," Adrien laughed nervously and averted his gaze. "It's… how I clean up… but I know it can be kinda gross, I can go brush my t-"

Luka kissed him again at full force. Adrien eagerly reciprocated.

The next few seconds were a blur of tentatively repositioned hands and attention-hoarding tongues.

Adrien groaned, and Luka pulled back to lick his lips again and ask what was wrong.

"I'm fucking hard again..." the blond complained, putting his face in his hands. "What is wrong with me…"

"Nothing." Luka replied with a smile and a gentle stroke down Adrien's chest. "This is perfectly normal, kitten. And, honestly, kinda encouraging."

Adrien lowered his hands, red in the face.

"It's good to know I can turn you on." Luka gave him a light smooch to the cheek. "But we can stop if you want."

"M-m-might be a good idea," his bedmate mumbled, and Luka could tell his heart wasn’t in the shut-down, but conceded that their heads were probably the wiser voices to follow here.

Luka gave him a loving kiss and a soft smile.

"You're doing good, sunshine." he assured, reaching up to scritch his cheek and jaw.

Adrien gave a weak little hum and pressed into the touch.

"Love you." Luka smooched his other cheek.

A muffled squeak and low purring sounded in Adrien's throat and he pressed his face against Luka's.

They returned to kissing, this time with decidedly zero intention of further activities. It was simply a quiet expression of affection.

"Guys?" came Marinette's voice at the door, prompting them to break.

"Yeah, babe?" Luka replied, pulling his hand down from Adrien's cheek.

Marinette opened the door, focused on her phone.

"I'm gonna do, uh," she spoke with distraction. "Late-lunch, early-dinner kinda thing, um…"

"That's fine, Mari," Adrien assured.

"Is pasta okay?" Marinette asked, looking up and fiddling with the hem of her cardigan.

"Of course," Adrien said, and Luka nodded. "But, Mari, are you feeling alright?"

"Me? Yeah, fine!" she smiled, maybe for a little too long. "I'm gonna get cooking."

She gave a quick flash of a wider smile, and pulled the door mostly shut, and disappeared.

The boys exchanged a glance, unsure, but also unsure of what to do about her obviously off demeanour.

"I should go to the bathroom." Adrien hummed. "Clean up before food."

"Yeah," Luka said, and stood up to help him down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and thus, nino is removed from the narrative so that i have a good reason for not letting him join the relationship yet :3 i do hope his romancey stuff with each of the characters is believable to yall though
> 
> re: adrien and luka and the self-sacrificing; this is something i see the fandom give adrien a lot of shit for, but i myself understand. i would be less accepting of it if there were real consequences to the actions contained within akuma instances, but even then, sometimes pain and loss and sacrifice are things that have to happen. sometimes theres no other way. we can be optimistic, we can be idealistic, but the fact remains: sometimes we lose things for the better outcome. we just have to hope we dont lose too much.
> 
> anyway wow look at that im two days behind schedule but you know what i didnt want to make yall wait another five days for this chapter
> 
> see ya next time !!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so a warning for this chapter: theres a bit of a mental breakdown had by one of the characters at the very end of the chapter, with some explicitly-described extremely negative thoughts and mentions of the concept of self harm. there is no self harm happening on or off screen, but it's alluded to.
> 
> also kind of ends on a cliffhanger so take note of that
> 
> i want u to be safe peeps

Luka fiddled with his baton, twirling it and twisting it and mindlessly pressing the pawprint button. He was waiting for Ladybug to arrive, but there was an awful lot on his mind.

Marinette had been acting strange all through dinner, and when Adrien asked if she wanted to watch a movie with them, she'd hurriedly informed that she was going on a run, and barely gave them the chance to say goodbye.

Luka was worried. Marinette's skittishness had _never_ been this bad.

It had never lasted longer than five minutes, absolutely not in the last three or four years, and especially not around him.

Luka knew she had problems with anxiety and trauma - so did he - but he also knew how it showed when she was feeling the worst of them, and this wasn't it.

He tossed the baton up from where he sat, frowning at nothing.

He'd always been able to fix it.

_Well, maybe not **fix** , per se_, he thought as he caught the baton again. _But at least help._

Every time she'd had a problem in the five years they'd officially known each other, Luka had been able to help. He was almost proud of it, knowing that no matter what troubles Marinette had, there was something he could do.

Excuses for lateness? A friend in crisis was always a good cover. 

Back pains from babysitting and exercise? A quick massage could fix that.

Questions about life? A comfortable conversation usually helped her with whatever she needed to know.

A lift home in the middle of the night from somewhere she'd stranded herself in the city for god knew what reason? Let him grab a coffee and his keys and that was no trouble.

Regular old funks in her mood? Music to listen to and a shoulder to lean on was all she needed.

But this nervousness was something he hadn't encountered before. Adrien said that this was how she used to be around him, but never knew the reason why.

Luka had a few ideas, but the fact still remained: he'd never helped Marinette through something like this.

He didn't know how to fix it.

And that worried him.

"What did that baton ever do to you, huh?" came a voice, and he almost fell off the edge of the roof.

Ladybug's black boots appeared in his field of vision and Tigereye looked up, and then back down, wondering what she'd meant. He was squeezing the life out of the poor metal rod, so he eased his grip.

"Uh, sorry," he sighed. "I tend to stim with my hands when I'm stressed."

"Oh, do you need a squeezy ball or a squishie or something?" Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder, clearly concerned, as she seated herself beside him. "I might have had one in my purse. I can fish around in my yoyo?"

"No, thank you, but," he shook his head and returned the baton to its place on his back. "I should be okay now."

"Alright." she nodded. "So, I should, uh, come clean and say that the chances of anything actually requiring a patrol tonight are basically zero."

"I figured. Chat said so before I left." Tigereye assured.

"How is he?" Ladybug wrung her fingers, which was odd.

"He's doing really well." he smiled a small smile. "And his cast comes off this week, so he'll be back to you real soon."

Ladybug's expression warmed - which eased his own feelings a bit, too - followed by her cheeks.

"It'll be good to see him again." she said quietly, almost wistfully, a little smile on her face as she gazed out at the rest of the city.

Luka really hoped it was just leftover from earlier, but he was getting the distinct feeling that Ladybug was also acting unusual tonight.

Earlier today, just before the transformation debacle, she'd seemed just fine. Cool, confident, level-headed, absolutely meaning business but not averse to light banter.

Since he'd gotten to know her over the course of their work together, he'd become familiar with her soul sound.

The song in Ladybug's heart was something like a classical piece, dramatic yet elegant, commanding of respect and awe for its power and beauty.

Out of curiosity, he tried to read her soul sound again.

This Ladybug was nervous, shy, and passive. The song he felt in this girl's heart now was like a violin solo being played just a fraction too fast, with over-wound strings and a new bow. Quick and tense with an underlying sense of foreboding that something was about to go wrong, be it a flubbed note or a snapped string.

It was almost like she was an entirely different person.

"Ladybug," he beckoned gently. "Are you feeling alright?"

Her shoulders tensed, and she looked over with an expression Marinette made often. One that admitted without words that she had been called out.

"I… went through a lot, today," Ladybug wouldn't meet his gaze, another red flag. "But…"

"But?" Tigereye prodded, hoping he wasn't pushing too far.

"I'm not supposed to talk about those things when I'm Ladybug…" the girl wearing the mask reasoned, hugging herself.

The words hit Luka a little harder than he expected them to.

Since the beginning of this whole affair, he'd had a pretty good handle on the whole identity business. He could tell that he, as Tigereye, was separate from himself, as Luka, in some ways. Or that he was supposed to be, or expected to be, or something.

Since he'd never really looked too far into it before, Luka had spent a little time watching old interviews and candid videos of the superhero team he'd been inadvertently dragged into, and from all of that, he could tell that Adrien, too, was different from Chat Noir.

And it hit him that he was now seeing that same divide affecting Ladybug. Or rather, the girl behind the black and red mask.

"Well, that's dumb." he said blatantly.

She blinked at him, stunned.

"You're a person," Tigereye shrugged pointedly. "You have emotions. You can't act like they don’t exist, especially if they're hurting you."

Ladybug's cheeks went a little pink.

"I mean, I get why." he admitted. "Chat Noir's the same."

Ladybug's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but Luka had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.

"I know, I know I'm not supposed to talk about him," he said quickly, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "But I wanna use him as an example, so just bear with me here."

Ladybug gave a little expression like she was unsure, but nodded.

"I obviously didn't know he was Chat Noir before… all this," Luka gestured vaguely to his suit for clarification. "And, yeah, maybe I didn't pay a huge amount of attention to you guys at all before all this, either, but… I've been looking back, and…"

A car passed on the street below them.

"He's not… he's different, when it's just him," Tigereye said. "Just, non-superhero, normal-person Chat."

Ladybug swallowed, nervous. This was toeing a line, but she trusted Tigereye. He'd been good until now.

"It's like," he tisked, thinking hard enough to frown. "It's like he's following a rhythm someone else wrote him, and he's afraid to step off-beat."

Marinette was more surprised by the fact that she understood the simile than by the idea.

"But when he's Chat Noir?" Tigereye looked up at the sky and smiled a little. "He's letting himself riff, and you can tell he's having fun."

She smiled a little, several memories of his most entertaining times coming back to her, but then the feeling of missing him got stronger.

"I think it's the same for you." Tigereye turned to her.

Ladybug flinched, but it was more out of the unexpected turn of attention to her than any offence.

"But also kind of the opposite?" he mused.

She scrunched up her face in confusion, and he had to take a moment to come to terms with how cute she had been recently.

"I mean," he tried not to laugh. "Whoever you are under here…"

He brushed a knuckle against her cheek, at the edge of her mask, and to her relief, took it away before he could find out how warm he'd made it with his touch.

"You wrote yourself the same kind of rhythm to follow as Ladybug." Tigereye told her. "And I get why. There's a lot of pressure on you, I get why you'd be scared to step off-beat."

Marinette nodded, almost ashamed of how well he'd read her.

"But you can't ignore the rest of your song, Little Lady." he shook his head. "You need to riff just as much as Chat Noir does."

"If only it were that simple," Ladybug sighed.

"It's hard, yeah," Tigereye nodded. "But most things are."

She was still unconvinced.

"Chat Noir has been letting himself riff at home, recently." he said, shuffling in place. "Ever since he moved in, actually. I think it's cause he feels safer than he did before. You should do the same."

"Move in with you?" Ladybug asked in confusion.

"No, no," Tigereye laughed. "Find yourself somewhere where 'Ladybug'-" he air-quoted, "-feels like she can riff."

The superheroine considered this, and laid back on the roof. He followed, curious.

She rolled her head to the side to make eye contact with him, and for a moment, they just looked at one another.

He knew that if she wanted to say something, she would, and simply let the silence be.

Marinette was conflicted.

She knew he was right. She'd heard it enough from Luka that feelings needed to be worked through, and Luka wasn't wrong about those kinds of things often.

She still wasn’t sure about talking about her home life as Ladybug, but Tigereye had sniffed out that she wasn't feeling her best, and she needed to be better. And the way to feel better was to talk to a friend.

And whoever Tigereye was, he was surely a friend.

So Marinette took another breath, decided that she trusted him, and opened up a part of her that hadn't seen the light of day behind the mask more than twice in almost six whole years.

"Earlier today, I…" she began weakly. "I almost… had sex… with my roommates, and… it's…"

"Are you okay?" Luka's protective instincts kicked in immediately. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, no, they would never!" Ladybug squeaked. "They're both good guys, I just…"

She sighed again and he pushed all the potential plans of murder to the back of his mind.

"It's just… a lot." she shrugged and played with her hands. "I've been… single all my life, and…"

She sighed and closed her eyes.

"I've never had a relationship," Ladybug said quietly. "I've had a lot of crushes, I'm in love with a few people, but I've never _dated_ or anything."

Luka looked up at the dark sky, but focused all his attention on her words.

"And Ella and Etta mentioned me and Chat," she said, something strange in her tone. "He's been in love with me practically since we started. It took me a while, but I fell in love with him, too."

He wondered if he should tell Adrien that, but realised that that would be betraying Ladybug's trust. The idea also made him feel a little like a gossiping schoolkid.

"But… there was always… someone else." Ladybug admitted. "Two someones, even…"

"That's how it is sometimes." Tigereye sighed.

"And, y'know, around that time, my best friend was getting into all these group relationships," she went on. "And I thought, maybe I could date Chat _and_ the others, but… it felt selfish."

"It's not, I promise," he interjected gently. "Wanting to date more than one person isn't selfish. But it sure isn't for everyone, so I get why you'd be scared to be seen that way."

"My best friend says the same." Ladybug gave a weak chuckle.

"They must be pretty wise, then," Tigereye closed his eyes.

"He is." she played with a strand of hair, as if fond feelings had taken over for a moment. "But… by now, you must have heard what happened between Rena Rouge and Carapace."

She meant, it dawned on him, the tail end of Alya and Nino's relationship. They had lasted a good four years, but after Alya discovered that Nino was hiding some secret - a secret she wanted very badly, a secret that not even Luka ever found out - she'd gotten toxic trying to get it out of him.

She had tried teasing him, bribing him, manipulating him, but Nino never budged, and one day he woke up and she was gone.

It had been a few years since her worst, but Luka still didn't couldn't deal with Alya Cesaire. He would never like her again, not after what she did to Nino. He could barely stand to talk about her.

He was almost afraid to ever see her in person again, lest he do something stupid.

"Yeah." Tigereye sighed.

"I don't think he'd ever be like Rena Rouge." Ladybug shook her head. "He'd never, I know that. But…"

"You're still scared?" Tigereye guessed quietly.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I'm scared. Just like every other time I've been in love, I'm scared."

She rolled over and her voice went low.

"I'm scared of it going wrong, of hurting them…"

"Of being hurt." Luka nodded.

"I don't want to be," Ladybug tried. "I want to love them, I do. I'm so ready to not be scared anymore, but…"

She sighed and covered her face with her hands.

"But there are so many ways it could go wrong, so many things I can't be sure of…" she bemoaned. "I'm just stupid and scared."

"Little Lady," Tigereye scolded softly, sitting up and crossing his arms. "Don't be mean to yourself."

She sat up with him, still partly curled in on herself.

"Listen," he beckoned. "Life hurts. It does."

Ladybug made a little frown.

"And mistakes and fuck-ups and things going wrong," Tigereye shook his head. "We can't avoid them. All we can do is try our best."

She stared playing with her hair.

"You're a really cool girl," Tigereye encouraged. "You're smart and creative and funny. You remind me of M-"

Luka barely dodged that massive mistake.

"My girl," he saved himself, and though it sounded clunky, he figured it would have to do. "And if you're anything like her, those roommates would be fucking idiots to do you wrong."

Ladybug blinked and blushed.

"And, listen, I know a thing or two about relationships," Luka sighed. "It's not easy, but if you do it right, there's nothing you can't get through with the people you love."

She swallowed.

"I know, it's scary." he admitted. "I'm scared, too. Chat and I are getting closer to our roommate, as well. The only thing stopping all of us from going at it earlier was the akuma."

Ladybug was surprised by this.

"Right, too much info, sorry," Luka huffed at himself. "But what I'm getting at is, I know they love me and I love them, but even _I'm_ still scared."

She looked around them out of nervousness, and then back to him.

"Love means trusting your loved ones, and that can be hard," Tigereye said. "And, yeah, there's a real chance you'll get hurt."

Ladybug nodded.

"But you should take that chance, I think," he encouraged. "Because the other thing that could happen is love, and there's nothing better in the world than any kind of love."

She swallowed.

"So trust them." Tigereye smiled and flicked under her chin affectionately. "And I'm sure it'll all turn out okay."

Ladybug took a deep breath and visibly relaxed, then scooted over to hug him.

"Thanks, Tiger." she whispered to him, snuggling into his oversized leather jacket.

"No problem, Little Lady." he smiled, embracing her in return.

And after a moment of warm hugging, he added;

"And just remember that if they hurt you, I'll kill them."

And Ladybug burst into laughter.

He smiled, and then she kissed his cheek.

Tigereye blinked, and then went red, and then began purring.

Ladybug lit up.

"Oh my god!" she giggled, pressing her head against his chest. "Wow, you got that a lot faster than Chat did. Oh, I missed this sound…"

"S-sorry," Luka stuttered out.

This was too much. Ladybug was too much like Marinette. It was wearing down his defences.

"Don't apologize." she scoffed, looking up at him with her sparkly blue eyes.

Luka's heart skipped a beat, and he knew then that having feelings for four separate people was a near-certain death sentence.

===

Marinette ran most of the way home, regretting the decision only once.

Her shoulder was not exactly impressed.

She rubbed it as she arrived on the roof of Luka's building, giving a little huff.

"Marinette?"

Her first thought, before she turned, was that that was Luka's voice, but what would Luka be doing up here?

She turned, confused, only to spot Tigereye on the opposite edge of the roof, wide-eyed.

"Tigereye?" she cocked her head. "What are you…?"

"It's visit night, but you looked like you weren't home, so, I…" he turned back and walked toward her. "Figured I'd just head off."

"Sorry," Marinette sighed. "I really did want to see you tonight. I tried to make it back in time, but I landed wrong and hurt my shoulder."

"Again?" Tigereye switched to a concerned expression and reached for her arm, but seemed to think better of it.

"Have I told you I've hurt my shoulder before?" she squinted suspiciously.

"Chat did," he answered quickly. "He said you have a tendency to get yourself hurt."

"Ah," Marinette blushed. "Yeah…"

"Can I help at all?" Tigereye offered.

"Unless you know how to massage shoulders, no," she sighed.

"I do," he answered, and then hesitated. "If… if you don't mind a stranger touching you."

Marinette gave it a little thought, but not much.

He himself had said earlier to trust those she loved, and he currently counted.

And given everything she knew, she felt like trusting him was safe.

"You're not a stranger, Tiger," Marinette smiled and turned a little and motioned to the shoulder. "Just a superhero."

He stepped forth and brought his hands up to her injured limb.

"Let me know if this hurts," he smiled, massaging lightly.

She untensed immediately, practically folding to his touch.

"Oh…" a little sound not unlike a moan escaped her, and she closed her mouth and swallowed.

"By the sound of that, I guess I'm doing okay," Tigereye chuckled. "Tell me when to stop."

Marinette was too tired and confused to respond coherently, so she stayed quiet and let her shoulders move with his hands.

Until the massage passed the point of usual amounts of pain and got a little achey.

Her only signal was a weak little whimper, but he stopped immediately, apologizing.

"It's alright, it's alright," Marinette promised, putting one hand on his arm and the other to the sore shoulder. "You did a really good job."

"I went too long, then," he nodded. "Sorry, again…"

"Oh, shush," she scolded playfully. "It's alright. I know you wouldn't hurt me."

Luka couldn't have helped the smile or the blush or the purr if he wanted too.

Marinette lit up at the sound.

She really did love the purring. It was so very lovely to listen to, and knowing that Chat Noir was comfortable enough with her to make the sounds of a real cat made her feel warm and fuzzy.

Now Tigereye was doing the same, and she couldn't help but be endeared even more to the man.

"M-may I?" she asked, moving in closer.

"Oh, of course," he opened his leather-clad arms, as if asking for a hug.

She hugged him and put her ear right to his chest. The purring hardly faltered, and he closed his arms lightly around her.

Marinette wanted to stay there, warm and safe and being purred for.

Until, owing to a combination of her unsatisfied desires from earlier and her brain's inability to function on any semblance of a normal level, several thoughts of unsavoury nature popped into her head.

She tensed up at the flood of thoughts involving taking Tigereye to bed, followed by the flood of fears and insecurities she'd been struck with earlier in the day.

Slowly, Marinette stepped away, all the progress she'd made tonight evaporating instantly.

Tigereye could clearly tell something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern on his face.

"I'm, uh," she gave a sigh and began to turn away from him. "I'm all good, Tigereye. Thanks for coming to see me."

She made for the fire escape, but he grabbed her wrist lightly, possibly meaning to beckon her with words shortly after, but despite the harmlessness of the contact, she flinched.

And he recoiled as if he'd been bitten by a snake.

"I'm sorry," he backed up a step or two, the color draining from his face. "I'm so sorry, Marinette!"

He misstepped and fell, but recovered to a crouch. He hadn't taken his eyes off her, searching for a signal.

Marinette was as panicked as he was. She looked at his wide eyes, his flat-back ears, his anxious tail, his attentive and worried expression, like her boys had had earlier, at dinner.

She wanted to tell him it was just a reflex, that he hadn't hurt her, it was just her irrational instincts.

And then it hit her that she should tell the boys the same.

Guilt set in, and she looked at the fire escape, considering going to bed. Considering running away again.

But another glance at Tigereye, and how distressed he was in this moment, reminded herself of his own words; that she couldn't ignore her problems.

"I'm sorry, Tiger." she reached her arms out to him. "That was just a reflex. You didn't hurt me, promise."

He swallowed, as if still unsure.

Marinette stepped forward, hand outstretched. Sometimes Chat needed a little reassuring pat or two.

Tigereye pressed up to her palm, and she brushed it past the fake ear and down the side of his face.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Are you?" he asked, very bravely.

Marinette told herself to do the right thing, and to hurry up about it.

"Yeah, Tiger," she replied gently and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "I'm gonna be just fine."

She bent down and pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head. He went wide-eyed.

"I should go to bed, and you should get home." Marinette told him, retreating her hand from his face.

He only nodded, shifting slightly, as if he wanted to follow her touch. But he stayed still, and silent, and she gave a little wave and walked away.

She paused on the fire escape stairs, because she heard the scuff of his boots and gloves as he scampered across the rooftop, and he paused at the halting of her footsteps, so for a moment, they looked at each other from a distance. 

She blew him a kiss and smiled and jogged the rest of the way down to the window.

Luka let the instinct to lie down on the roof and roll around a little bit to waste his ecstatic energy take over for a moment.

He lay there on his side, and blinked a few times in muted surprise at the perhaps too-catlike inclination, before he decided to accept it and crawled down the side of the building and into his room.

===

Whatever problem Marinette had had the day before had not in fact gone away after her chat with Tigereye, Luka quickly and concerningly discovered.

Marinette had disappeared to work before they were properly awake, and while she had given them goodbye kisses, they had apparently been downgraded all the way to cheek kisses since yesterday.

They got up and found kept-warm bacon waiting for them in the microwave, and wondered why Marinette hadn't called them for breakfast.

Luka, admittedly a little scared, eventually poked his head into the spare room, wondering if the bacon had been a parting gift and Marinette had decided to leave them forever and her things would be gone.

But none of them had moved. All of her belongings were right where they had been last night when he'd peeked in the window searching for her.

He noticed the items on the nightstand next to the spare bed. Marinette's phone charger, her preserved rose, and his gifted pick.

Luka's brain told him that if she had left _those_ of all things behind, she was absolutely going to come back for them.

_Unless_ , another, dread-filled part of his brain countered, those were her real parting gifts, and she didn’t care about them anymore.

Them _or_ the boys who had given them to her.

Luka went to sit on the bed and picked up the pick. The picture of Jagged Stone on it was still in perfect clarity, completely unmarred, but the edges were quite scratched.

He took a deep breath, the knot of anxiety still churning in his guts, and put it back where it had been.

Adrien, he saw as he joined him on the couch, was in no better a state.

He was tense and fidgety and his brow was furrowed as he frowned at his laptop screen, but after a clearly frustrating minute, he closed it and put back down on the floor between the couch and music equipment pile.

The boys exchanged a glance, worry obvious on both of them, and linked hands.

They had no clue what was wrong, and it felt absolutely awful.

===

Adrien almost welled up with tears when Marinette returned, though for what specific emotion, Luka couldn't tell.

"Hey, Mari!" he called, and waved from their couch.

"Hey, hot stuff." she smiled, feeling clever about her new nickname for him, and waved back.

Luka and Adrien looked at one another. Was she still acting weird? This was new, but was it weird?

Marinette wasn’t exactly like other women in terms of moodiness and contrariness, so either something was still wrong, or nothing had been wrong in the first place.

And they didn't know which concept was worse.

The anxiety that had clouded around the boys only darkened.

Marinette proceeded to spend the afternoon doing innocuous things, the same things she usually did. Humming to herself in the shower, sewing quietly in her room, occasionally laughing at something on her phone, nothing unusual.

But neither Luka nor Adrien could stop waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It was only a few hours, but it still felt like an eternity before Marinette came out and went to make dinner.

Luka had gotten into the habit of sticking to Marinette's side in the kitchen, so now felt like a good time to try interacting with her.

He approached not unlike an anxious cat, moving only a little ways at a time on his path to her, and kept looking back to Adrien out of nerves.

Luka tried to relax, he really did. This was Marinette. He loved Marinette, and Marinette loved him. Or, at least, she said she did, and he tried his best to believe her.

But he was still scared.

By the time Luka got within range, Marinette was stirring in the frypan.

Usually, this would be when he gave her a hug from behind and nuzzled in her hair and told her the dinner smelled good and how good he thought she was at cooking.

He knew that she liked that, so there shouldn't have been any problem trying it now… unless something was wrong.

Luka came close, and Marinette's immediate reaction to the unexpected proximity was to drop the spoon.

It clattered to the floor, making both of them flinch, and Marinette ducked down and away from him to pick it up.

He backed up instantly, hit the bench behind and bumped his head on one of the cupboards.

"Oh, Luka," Marinette went back to stirring, barely paying him any more notice than a single glance. "It'll be done in a minute."

He didn't respond. The fact that the small of his back and the back of his head were in pain didn't even register to him.

She'd avoided him. She'd ignored him.

Marinette didn't want to speak to him, and she didn't want him to touch her, and this surely meant that he'd hurt her.

Luka's worst fear had come true.

His guts dropped into the abyss and his mind tuned out the sound of the TV in the distance and the sizzling in the frypan, leaving only the sound of his pounding heart in his ears.

Shaking, Luka swallowed and looked down at his hands, and then, without looking up, he took the five steps into his room and closed the door.

His immediate instinct, thanks to the freshly unburied tendencies from the worst of his days, was to let himself fall out the window.

Thankfully, his years of fighting them weren't for nothing, and he could push it away. A gentler part of his mind suggested he take a nap, since things always felt a lot better after he'd slept a little.

But Luka didn't think he deserved to be comfortable right now.

He curled up on the floor beside the bed, still shaking, and hugged his knees.

"Kid?" Plagg asked, floating up near his head.

Luka didn't respond. He couldn't speak, and even if he could, he had nothing to say. His heart and mind had seized up entirely with despair.

"Alright," the kwami sighed, and, with the manner of someone doing something they had done a million times and was tired of doing, he pressed his little black flipper to Luka's forehead.

_She hates me. She hates me. I hurt her. I can't believe I hurt her. I'm so stupid. Stupid. Horrible. Useless. Worthless. Disgusting. She's right to hate me. I wasted years of her life. She trusted me and I hurt her. I'm the worst. I don't deserve to look at her. I don't deserve to-_

Plagg removed his flipper and shook his head quickly to rid himself of the haunting thoughts.

He had heard all of it before.

And Luka needed help, before it got worse.

===

Marinette continued making dinner in silence.

Adrien bounced his good leg restlessly on the couch.

She glanced at him, feeling awful.

She hadn't meant to be so sharp to Luka, honestly, she hadn't; but the hug had made her panic, and then the sentence, which was supposed to soothe, came out a lot more curt than she wanted.

Luka had just… left. Run away and hid like a scared little animal.

And she knew what he was feeling, and she knew it was her fault.

Marinette wanted to go in there, to say sorry, to hug him and kiss him and make sure he felt better and didn’t do anything stupid.

But she couldn't do it. She couldn't work up the courage.

She gripped the spoon tight, as if trying to take our her fear on it, but it didn't work.

"It's ready, Adrien." Marinette announced to him, reaching over and turning the frypan off.

"I'm not hungry." Adrien choked out weakly, not looking up from his phone.

Marinette felt stung, and then realised she probably deserved it.

She put the entire dinner in a container, having lost her appetite, and put everything away.

Then she disappeared.

As soon as her door closed, Plagg zoomed up to Adrien's face.

Adrien got even more worried. He'd heard the gentle thuds and shuffling in the room, and was worried about what Luka was up to in there.

"Kid," Plagg spoke quietly. "You're gonna need to come see this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive basically given up on the rigid saturday structure can u tell
> 
> hey yea kids anxiety can blow things way out of proportion in your heads and hearts so both marinette and luka are kind of overreacting, but also not? mental illness is Like That
> 
> dont worry, it'll all be okay. i Promise


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE TWO UPDATES IN ONE WEEK
> 
> warnings for this chapter: nonverbalism and related struggles, a reference to the car accident from the start of this fic, a bit of morally-grey voyuerism
> 
> also sexy times u know how it be

Luka still didn't have the ability to speak when Adrien appeared in the doorway, which might have been a good thing, because his immediate internal reaction was what would have been a loud yelp.

At his confused and questioning expression, Adrien got a little nervous.

"I don't know if I can walk on it, but moving it doesn't hurt anymore." he shrugged, and then hopped one-legged past the door.

He manoeuvred his way along the wall to a spot where he could fall back on the end of the bed, and then plonked himself down on the floor.

Luka watched in amazement. He opened his mouth, perhaps to query or compliment, but still no words would work for him.

"I climbed the fire escape like this," Adrien shrugged again. "And that was when it still hurt. This was nothing."

Luka's expression changed to one of concern.

"Relax." Adrien nudged him, and kissed his temple.

Luka blushed, but he pulled away a bit, feeling undeserving.

"Was… was that not okay?" Adrien swallowed.

Luka wanted to contest and reassure, but still no words came, so he thumped his head on the mattress behind.

"He's having trouble talking, kid," Plagg told Adrien. "But he needs more of that."

Adrien wrapped his arms around Luka, and Luka responded by clinging and nuzzling.

"There you go, kid," Plagg came over and rubbed his oversized head on Luka's cheek. "Now, no more thinking we hate you."

Luka poked his tongue out at Plagg and Adrien chuckled and kissed his cheek.

"It's not you," Luka whispered. "It's Marinette."

"She kind of gave you the cold shoulder, didn't she." Adrien sighed. "She's done that to Chat Noir before."

Luka swallowed and buried his face in Adrien's neck.

"But she doesn’t hate Chat Noir," Adrien assured him. "I don't think she ever has."

He kissed him on the cheek and drew his gaze back.

"She doesn’t hate you," he promised. "Marinette only hates like three people, and none of them are you."

Luka wanted to believe it.

"She's… always loved you, Luka," Adrien admitted. "Like, since you met."

The older boy blinked.

"For a while, in school, I wondered if she might like me, but…" Adrien shook his head. "You. It was so obvious that you guys were in love."

"I never dated Marinette cause she was in love with you." Luka told him. "Did… did you never know?"

It was Adrien's turn to blink.

"That day at the rink," Luka smiled at him. "She wouldn't come home with me. She wanted so badly to run after you."

Adrien seemed to have an existential crisis there beside him.

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you, sunshine?" Luka kissed his nose.

"Alright, yeah," Adrien chuckled. "Wow. The whole time?"

"The whole time." Luka nodded, and took a deep breath. "And, you know, if… if she'd just be happier with you, I…"

"Shhh." Adrien put a finger to his lips. "Both of us. She wants both of us, right?"

Luka blushed and nodded, thinking back to their most recent visit to the skating rink, and what had happened - and what had _almost_ happened - in the dressing room.

"And I want both of you, so…" Adrien blushed in kind. "S-so there's no reason to think like that."

"Me too, sunshine." Luka kissed his cheek and gave him a squeeze. "Alright. N-no more thinking like that."

"Good." Adrien smooched him back. "But what do we do about Mari?"

"You _could_ go and talk to her," Plagg piped up from his perch on Luka's shoulder.

Both boys were understandably anxious about that prospect.

"Cowards." Plagg scoffed and floated into the air. "I'll do it then."

"What?" Adrien hissed in surprise.

Plagg was already at the wall.

"Wait!" Luka reached out to the kwami, but he was already gone.

The boys scrambled across the bedroom floor to the wall he'd disappeared through, and held their ears to the wall, unsure of what to expect once Plagg reached his destination.

An uncertain silence.

"Plagg!" Marinette's voice came, quiet but bright sounding.

Adrien's jaw dropped.

"Greetings, fair Marinette," Plagg said. Was… was he speaking _teasingly_?

Adrien and Luka made incredulous expressions to one another. They definitely had no idea what to expect.

"Shh, I don’t know if my roommates should know about you," she giggled.

"We'll be quiet," the kwami chuckled, and a soft kissing noise was heard.

Both boys' eyes widened.

Silence for a little.

"C'mon, ask," Plagg said.

"How's Chat?" Marinette practically begged. "Is he okay?"

Adrien went a little pink cheeked and smiled shyly.

"He's been going a little nuts cooped up in his apartment," Plagg admitted, sounding as though he were moving around. "But he'll be out of the cast in a few days."

"Yay!" she squeaked. "And how's Tiger?"

Luka's cheeks also flushed. Adrien touched his hand to Luka's leg in reassurance.

"Yeah, fine." Plagg said, and the boys could practically hear the aggressive shrug.

"…Are they getting along?"

A little more silence.

"Yeah, they're going good."

"Careful, Plagg, those are sensitive," Marinette whispered.

"I know what I'm doing." Plagg sounded smug.

"You naughty kitty…" she scolded quietly.

"Do you want me to move?" the black spirit asked.

"No." Marinette said after a second. "You're fine."

Adrien pouted and his brow furrowed. Luka was similarly confused.

"Honestly, that's probably the only way they're gonna get touched, anyway," she mumbled.

"What, the two perfectly able and available men living with you aren't interested?" Plagg asked.

"Well… yeah, but… I don't know…" Marinette said shyly. "I'm a little confused, if I'm honest?"

"Confused?" he had undoubtedly raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" she said very quietly. "Adrien was my dream guy for years, and I know Luka's liked me forever, and yeah, I love them both so much, and we've been getting closer and closer and…"

Adrien and Luka both went red in the face.

"But?" Plagg coaxed.

"But… Nino, the other day, he said he… and… and Tigereye is super cute?" Marinette whispered. "Like, adorable…"

Luka looked right at the floor.

"He won't be around for much longer, you know," Plagg warned. "I fully intend on going back to my original holder as fate intended."

Adrien reached over and gently patted Luka's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

"And that's the final piece of the puzzle," she sighed and they heard her shuffle.

Some silence. Adrien and Luka even stopped breathing in the event they missed some very quiet noise.

"You gonna elaborate on that?" Plagg asked.

"You're a kwami, can't you read my mind or something?" Marinette teased.

"I'm not _your_ kwami," he cat kwami goaded. "I belong to the ring. Y'know, the miraculous you're not wearing?"

Marinette giggled and Luka and Adrien smiled a little.

"I guess," she said softly. "I guess I wasn't expecting just how much I missed Chat?"

Adrien's mouth fell open again. He hadn't been thinking about how much she must have missed him.

"Like, Tigereye's cool and cute and all," Marinette said. "But he's not my kitty, y'know?"

"I think I understand." Plagg murmured.

"I miss him so much," she whispered. "I haven't seen him in a month. I'm worried about him."

"He's fine, I promise." Plagg said.

Adrien was most certainly not fine right then. He hadn't even considered Marinette might be missing the hero she knew was injured and didn't know had been in her tender, loving care every day for the last month _this_ badly.

He felt like he'd abandoned her.

"I don't know, Plagg," Marinette shuffled a little and the bedsheets rustled. "You say that and Nino says that and Tigereye says that, but I just…"

"Hey, I was comfortable!" Plagg complained.

"And I was cold," she countered.

"I can tell," he snickered.

"So _you're_ where Chat gets all his dirty jokes," Marinette accused.

Adrien suddenly felt very warm. Too warm.

"Nah, whatever the kid says is all his own work," Plagg said, moving around again.

"So what do you even change about him?" she asked. "Other than the eyes?"

"He wouldn't be jacked if it weren't for all the hero work, but that took years, so I don't know if I deserve full credit for that." Plagg grunted in effort. "Kid's worked hard to get where he is. Maybe too hard."

"Non-stop for five years." she probably nodded. "Not that I've seen him naked to know what the results are."

 _Oh, Marinette, if only you knew_ , Adrien made an embarrassed face. Luka looked amusedly sympathetic.

"This break was good for him, I think," Plagg said, sounding still again.

"That is the most morbid pun I have ever heard," Marinette said flatly.

"I am the master of puns, and of morbid things, and you know this. Why are you surprised?" the black cat mumbled.

"Mm. Comfy?" Marinette asked in a tone that definitely denoted a raised eyebrow.

"Very," Plagg replied coyly.

They could vividly imagine the way her eyes would have rolled at that.

"You're the one who said this would be the most they'd get touched, remember?"

"Yeah, but it's still a little weird to have my best friend's spirit cat be the one to do it?" she contested.

"I thought we were closer than that, Marinette," Plagg played offended. "After all we've been through together!"

"Shh, you'll get the boys in here," Marinette snickered.

"Wouldn't you _like_ that?" Plagg asked.

"No- y-yes! Maybe?" she squeaked. "I don't know…"

Adrien and Luka blinked at one another.

"Don't know what?" Plagg asked after a moment.

"I don’t know what to do." Marinette sighed.

"I think you do," the kwami replied cryptically.

Marinette seemed to be stunned by this.

The boys were about probably equally so.

"I'm scared," she whispered. "I don't… I'm scared."

The boys were _definitely_ equally so.

"They're all… all good to me and good for me and…" Marinette sighed. "I love them all, but I'm scared."

Adrien and Luka locked gazes. What were they supposed to be feeling right now?

"I mean, right now, the only thing I want is for Chat to crawl in that window, crawl all over me and show me exactly how much he missed me," Marinette muttered. "But is that just cause I miss him so much that I'm desperate to see him?"

Adrien decided it was getting too hot to keep his shirt on. He took it off.

"Do I want to know what those guitar fingers feel like?" Marinette continued with no signs of stopping. "God, yes."

Luka's shoulders tensed and he also decided his shirt was too hot.

"Do I want to know if those underwear ads are exaggerating or not?" Marinette mumbled. "Of course I do."

Adrien very slowly covered his mouth with his hand. His green eyes and Luka's blue met in a kind of stunned solidarity.

"Do I want someone, _anyone's_ hands on my boobs that arent the flippers of a tiny chaos god?" she asked the kwami pointedly, letting the boys know exactly where he was.

"Do you?" Plagg asked.

"Yes!" Marinette hissed.

Adrien convulsed with the tension. Luka was trying very hard to steady his breathing.

"But I can't just… I don't know how to…" Marinette sighed. "I'm scared."

"Do you want my advice?" Plagg asked.

All three of the humans listening blinked in surprise.

"Okay," Marinette said after a moment.

"All these boys are good kids and all of them would be good to you."

Silence.

"And, sure," Plagg continued steadily. "One of them was made for you. You know which one I mean."

Neither of the boys did. If Marinette did, she didn't say anything.

"But here's the thing." Plagg said, something unrecognizable in his voice. "You humans have a particular power that even fate has never been able to compete with. I was _fated_ to belong to Chat Noir until the day he died, but instead I was given to Tigereye for a month, interrupting my steadily growing bond with my favourite holder in over ten centuries, because some stupid motherfucker _chose_ not to hit the brakes, and because Chat _chose_ to give me to someone he trusted, and that someone _chose_ to accept."

Adrien was startled by this.

"Marinette," the little cat spirit seemed to move again. "You love all of these boys, and it was your _choice_."

Silence. The boys were hyperaware of their heartbeats.

"You _chose_ to let yourself love all these idiots." Plagg said. "And they all love you."

She made the tiniest gasp of surprise.

"So you shouldn't be scared of them. You shouldn't be scared of the future." the kwami spoke softly. "Because _you_ made it, and you make such wonderful things."

The moment of Plagg-brand tenderness struck all three listeners as deeply as the following silence stretched.

"So, waltz next door and have a threesome with your roommates, like we all know you want to." Plagg suggested and Marinette squeaked in surprise. "Or, wait here a few more days for Chat Noir to burst in and seduce you."

Luka and Adrien felt the arousal flood them again.

"One or the other, both, neither," the spirit went on. "Whatever. Choose."

"But, you've already defied fate in this lifetime, Marinette." Plagg said, very quietly. "It has no power over you, and you know it. _You're in control_."

Quiet. Deafening quiet.

Marinette swallowed.

"So you don't have to be scared." the kwami told her. "Everything's gonna be okay."

She sighed and a little shuffle, possibly a nod, was heard.

"You're gonna get _so_ much ass," he said with an obvious grin, incapable of being sincere for so long.

" _ **Plagg**_!" she squeaked in offense.

They all chuckled about it anyway.

"Goodnight, Marinette." Plagg mumbled after some time.

"Goodnight, Plagg," Marinette whispered.

Then he phased through the wall between Luka and Adrien's heads and snickered.

"Enjoy the show."

Luka and Adrien were confused until they heard the tiny moan, and then they pressed their heads right back to the wall.

Marinette panted slightly on the other side of the hall, and a little whimper escaped her lips.

Adrien exchanged a glance with Luka, and decided that his idea of biting a knuckle was actually probably a brilliant one to copy.

Luka held his breath, which, while seeming like a good idea, only made things worse, as the silence made room for the sounds of slickness coming from Marinette's ministrations to reach his ears.

Both shuddered.

Neither had expected the mood to turn so heated so quickly, given the emotional rollercoaster that that conversation - and the last few hours in general - had taken them all on, but they couldn't exactly fight it.

"God, I wish those were my fingers," Luka breathed.

"Me, too," Adrien replied at equal volume, trying not to groan in desire. "She probably looks gorgeous like this…"

"Kitty…" came a muffled moan.

Adrien froze, and Luka looked him in the eye and nodded, as if to confirm that that's what he'd heard.

That that's what she'd moaned.

"Sorry, but there's no way I'm sleeping this one off," Adrien whispered as he reached down.

"Don’t worry, sunshine." Luka undid his fly. "That's completely understandable."

Both boys sat practically plastered to the wall as they listened to the object of their affections pleasure herself.

Adrien was biting his lip and pumping for all he was worth. Luka had a thumb between his teeth and, judging by the way he was twitching, wasn't far from finishing.

Marinette let out a few more moans, which made Adrien's free hand reach across to dig his nails into his shoulder hard.

It hurt. It didn’t make him want to stop.

The girl on the other side of the wall gasped a little and her breathing stuttered. She whimpered in need.

Luka moved away from the wall, hissing around his red-raw hand as he tore it out, and holding it over his mouth to stifle the moan that threatened to come from the back of his throat as he climaxed. He kept balance long enough to grab the tissue box from the nightstand nearby and clean up, and then fell lightly to the side as he tucked himself back into his underwear.

All it took was one more whisper of 'kitty…' from his princess in the next room to send Adrien over the edge. He cleaned up in kind, then tried to curl in on himself, and mostly succeeded, but the cast got in the way.

"Paris's heroes." Plagg muttered from the bed.

"This is partly _your_ doing… little shit..." Adrien scowled in his kwami's general direction in the dark.

Luka had put his hands over his face.

"Fuck." he said.

"Fuck." Adrien concurred, still a little breathy.

"Bed?" Luka asked, slightly muffled by his palms.

"Please." Adrien choked out.

Luka stood up and reached down to pull Adrien up onto the shared bed.

"You alright, kitten?" Luka checked, wiping Adrien's forehead softly.

Adrien only made a non-committal hum, confusion and a little guilt gripping his mind.

"Was… was that wrong?" Adrien asked as Luka just flopped onto the mattress beside him, hands returned to his face.

"Wrong?" Luka replied, voice deeper than usual and muffled again. "Maybe a little bit? I don't really know anymore."

Adrien sighed and let his hands lay on his stomach, which was, stupidly, full of butterflies.

"Have you done that much?" Adrien wondered. "Like, because of Mari?"

"Not much, but… yeah," Luka whispered. "The morning after you crawled in the window."

"Why?" Adrien asked, not entirely sure why he was asking.

Perhaps it was searching for a distraction, or understanding. Maybe he was just curious. Might have been a bit of all of those things.

"Couldn't sleep properly." Luka mumbled. "Kept worrying about Marinette. Got up about five." 

The blue-eyed man took a deep breath.

"She was on the couch, with a coffee, hair down, just fuckin' bathed in sunlight from the window," he said. "And she was absolutely swimming in my hoodie."

Adrien understood, but he kind of wanted to hear Luka go on.

"I'm talking mid-thigh and sweater paws." Luka let his hands slide a little down his face, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. "And she'd unzipped it enough that there was, like, _just the right amount_ of side boob. She didn't see me in the doorway, and she pulled the hood up to her nose and sniffed it and smiled. I almost came on the spot. I had to go back to bed and rub one out just so I could say good morning."

"One time, I visited as Chat," Adrien whispered. "Marinette was wearing one of my shirts, the one I gave her when Chloe stole her clothes as a mean trick, like ages ago. She was sleeping in it. She didn't see me at the skylight yet and she bundled it up and snuggled into it. I left right then, feeling really weird. I couldn't sleep that night and I didn’t even know why."

"Know now?" Luka huffed.

"Yeah," Adrien chuckled. "I was always kinda dumb about this stuff, honestly."

"Yeah," Luka nodded. "I get that. But you're getting there, kitten."

He reached over and ruffled Adrien's blond hair.

"Thanks," Adrien sighed. "What are you thinking right now?"

"Right now?" Luka let one arm flop off the edge of the mattress. "Hoping Marinette's feeling okay."

"Plagg really dropped some bombs on her, huh?" Adrien scowled in the spirits direction again.

"I'm wondering if I should go and check on her or if she'll be asleep."

"Nope," came Marinette's quiet voice. "I'm awake."

Both boys shot into sitting positions.

Marinette was hiding behind the door, only her thin fingers and one eye visible.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" Luka asked.

She stepped a little more into view.

"I really don't…" she choked a little, as if on the verge of tears, and then cleared her throat and tried again. "I really don’t want to be alone tonight. Can… can I sleep with you?"

The boys exchanged a glance, but they knew the answer would be yes.

"Of course," Luka beckoned with one arm. "C'mere."

She walked towards them hesitantly, and they could see that she was wearing panties, but only her long hair covered her chest.

She crawled between them, the moonlight from the window illuminating her way.

"This okay?" Luka asked her.

"Yeah," Marinette whispered. "Should I be on my back or…?"

"Just lie how it's comfortable, Mari," Adrien told her softly.

Marinette flipped herself onto her back and shuffled under the blanket.

"Hey, you feelin' alright?" Luka asked, scooting down a bit.

"I just need a little love right now," Marinette murmured.

"And how should we love you?" Adrien asked her lowly.

"H-hold me?" she shrank a little, eyes flickering between them.

"Yes, love." Luka replied, scooping his hand under the small of her back.

Adrien followed suit, and they laid their other arms across her belly.

"How's this?" Adrien asked, gaze travelling along her cheek and neck.

"Good," Marinette whispered, smiling and blushing.

"Good." Luka sighed.

"H… how about some kisses?" she bit her lip.

Luka smooched her temple, and Adrien her forehead, and a little warmth blossomed in her chest.

"Anything else?" Adrien whispered into her cheek before kissing again.

It was a genuine inquiry.

Marinette pursed her lips a little, considering, but was interrupted by a smooch from Luka to her jaw.

"No," she shook her head, smiling still. "No, this is plenty."

Adrien desperately wanted to purr, but he held it in as he held his two favourite people in the world, all of them gently kissing every few seconds.

And, eventually, they slept.

Above them, hidden in the bookshelf, a spirit cat smiled, satisfied.

===

Marinette woke first, took a look at her surroundings, and immediately panicked again.

She wanted to run again, to scramble away and hide in her room. Luka had done that.

But she felt awful about that. She knew him, and knowing what she knew, she was lucky he was okay after she'd done that to him.

Marinette knew she had hurt them, and she wanted to fix it, and running was the opposite of doing that.

She was going to have to take a deep breath and open up, something she admittedly was alright at doing, except she was scared.

She blew her hair out of her face. Her bangs were getting long. She hadn't had a haircut in a month.

Adrien also hadn't had a haircut in a month, nor had he been shaving every day, either. He looked oddly scruffy.

Luka… Luka looked about the same amount of scruffy.

But she hardly minded.

Adrien looked nice with longer hair, and it didn't help that it stuck out, fluffier than any person's hair had the right to be. It was, arguably, as bad as Alya's bed-head. Although, Marinette debated with herself, Alya and Nino had always had lots of ways to keep their hair nice and neat. Adrien's was just stuck like that.

But it sort of suited him. It struck that strange balance between innocent and unruly that was much of who he really was.

And Luka… well, she liked Luka just the way he was. She couldn't imagine him looking any other way. He'd slicked his hair back at the behest of his mother for Rose and Juleka's wedding, and Rose herself had mussed it up again.

Luka was scruffy and that was an important part of him and she wouldn't change it if she wanted to.

A strand of her hair caught on something as she shifted, and she looked up to see it was Luka's stubble.

One thing Marinette did prefer on her boys was a clean-shaven face. The only men who could pull off facial hair were all over fifty, so they had thirty years before they could earn the right to wear beards.

That, and, kissing them was more fun if they weren't all scratchy.

She reached up and rescued the hair.

Luka hadn't noticed. He was still asleep.

She shifted just a little closer to him. Their arms were still around her, and it felt safe… her instinct to run was purely an internal one.

She touched her fingertips to the skin of his chest, and trailed them down.

Luka was strong, strong enough to lift and toss her on ice and move heavy band equipment on his own, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him. He looked skinny at first glance, nowhere near as obviously muscled as Nino or Adrien.

And he wasn't as tall as either of them, either; something that annoyed him to no end as the oldest.

But she could feel his muscles beneath his skin as he breathed. Right below his bellybutton, a trail of straggly black hairs sat, and she squinted at them in confused curiosity and flicked at them with her fingertip.

Luka's belly flinched and he chuckled.

Marinette pulled her hands close and went red.

"Good morning, gorgeous." his laughter slowly faded out, but he was still smiling as he reached up to brush her hair behind her ear. "Doing a little exploring?"

"S-s-sorry," she whispered.

"You know you can touch me anywhere, baby girl," he nuzzled her. "That just tickled."

He was right, of course. They wouldn't have made it very far in skating without that agreement.

"How long were you awake?" she asked.

"Before you," he yawned and smiled at her. "I just didn't want to move."

She nodded.

"What is that, anyway?" Marinette asked.

"Just a little extra hair." Luka shrugged. "Lots of people have one. It's called a treasure trail."

"Why's it called that?" she frowned in confusion and he chuckled again.

"You can't guess what's at the end of it?" he raised an eyebrow.

It clicked and she went red again.

"Oh," was all she could say.

"It's alright," Luka assured. "I really does just tickle."

She reached out and flicked at it again and he flinched and chuckled once more.

"Does Adrien have one?" she pondered.

"Yeah," he nodded in their bedmate's direction. "His is blond."

Marinette, curious, rolled over a little to see.

"Huh." she rolled back. "Interesting."

"Someone's curious this morning." Luka smiled, nuzzling her face.

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but couldn't formulate a protest.

"It's alright." He chuckled and smooched her cheek. "It's alright to be curious. You're just so cute it's entertaining."

Marinette squeaked and tried to hide.

"No," Luka squeezed her a little. "Don't hide."

She peeked at him through her fingers, and he was giving her the look.

"Don't hide, Mari," Adrien yawned behind her head. "You're so pretty. Don't hide."

"Good morning, sunshine." Luka smiled.

"Mmmorning." Adrien pulled her close and snuggled into her neck.

Marinette smiled and hummed, until the guilt hit and she felt like she didn't deserve it.

She sighed and prepared herself to rip off the metaphorical band-aid.

"G-guys?" she got out before she had to take another breath. "I'm… I'm sorry. About yesterday."

"It's alright, love." Luka smiled.

"No, it's not." Marinette pouted. "I might be scared, but I shouldn’t be mean to you because of it."

He gave a little sigh and then his smile returned.

"Baby, if you're not ready for… for _anything_ ," he stroked her cheek. "Tell us, and we'll back down."

"Mmm," Adrien nudged her head. "If you're not ready, just say so. It's okay."

"I'm ready, I am!" she sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm just… scared."

"We're all scared," Luka kissed her temple. "I'm scared to hurt you."

"I'm scared you'll hate me." Adrien admitted, hiding his noticeably warming face in her hair.

"I could never," Marinette rolled over and nuzzled him, and twisted back to see Luka. "And _you_ could never."

Luka squished close, making them a hug sandwich, and she giggled.

Predictably, Marinette kissed Adrien, and Adrien kissed back. Luka smiled and fingered all of Marinette's hair down behind her head so he could smooch at her neck.

"Should I say 'no marks'?" Marinette asked suddenly.

"Yeah," Luka chuckled. "If you don't want any."

"I don't think my parents would be very impressed if I showed up to work with a bunch of hickeys, rockstar." she reasoned.

"No marks for me either, then." Adrien sighed. "At least after I go back to modelling."

"So…" Luka dared. "Yes until further notice?"

"You really like the idea of biting us, huh?" Marinette teased.

Luka just went red and said nothing.

"Or, would you prefer to be the one being bitten?" Adrien winked while Marinette couldn't see.

Luka's response was to hide his face in Marinette's hair.

She rolled over to him and kissed his cheek, trying to encourage.

He responded immediately, kissing back passionately, and she squeaked and wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling.

Marinette's leg moved up, as if to curl around his hip, and Luka used the opportunity to move on top of her.

This was more forward than any of them were prepared for, and it showed.

Marinette blinked up at him, and though he felt even more aroused at the sight of her beneath him, Luka panicked.

"Too fast? Too fast," he sighed. "Sorry."

"No." Marinette blurted, and then looked to Adrien a moment. "Stay there, if you want to."

Luka also looked to their bedmate.

"I have no problem with you up there." Adrien smiled and cuddled close into Marinette's side, and kissed her. "I'm enjoying the view."

Marinette squeaked again and Luka had to take a moment. He kissed Adrien, since the boy had so conveniently snuggled himself within reach, and got revenge in leaving a surprised expression on the model's unreasonably pretty face.

She giggled at them, so Luka turned on her and attacked her face with kisses. He moved down, and whispered in her ear.

"Kiss him," he encouraged.

Marinette promptly turned her attention to Adrien again, and Luka set about covering her cheek and neck in smooches.

The first clue that she was enjoying herself came in the form of a little moan, which both her boys smiled at.

The second clue was when her legs squeezed around Luka's hips, pressing him closer to her almost desperately.

Of course, she immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry!" Marinette yelped.

She tried to pull the sheet from beside them to hide under, but ended up retrieving Luka's discarded shirt from last night, which had been crumpled on the edge of the mattress. Almost comically, she blinked at it, but after glancing at their faces, she hid under it anyway.

They laughed softly.

"Baby girl." Luka beckoned, trying to stop chuckling. "Come out of there."

"No." she replied, muffled.

"Please?" Adrien asked.

Marinette wriggled her face out of the shirt to give an indignant pout, but pulled it down so she was just wearing it, then blushed and swallowed.

"Listen to me, love," Luka beckoned.

He slowly pressed himself to her again, grinding against her. He was well and truly hard, and she gasped and clung to his shoulders at the feeling.

"You're allowed to want this." he looked her right in the eye.

He repeated the movement. Her blush got deeper.

"If you don't, then you need to tell us right away," he continued.

Another gentle thrust. She smacked her hand to her mouth, but the little moan slipped through her fingers.

"But if you do, baby girl," Luka pressed his face to hers and whispered lovingly. "You're allowed to want this, okay?"

With the fourth grind, Marinette gave in, panting, and her legs squeezed him again.

His point made, he hugged her tight, and when he got up again, she grabbed his face to kiss him deeply.

Adrien made a muffled little moan beside them.

"You okay, sunshine?" Luka asked, taking every kiss from her face that he could steal.

"Didn't realise watching would be so…" Adrien shuffled and cleared his throat.

"Fun?" Luka raised his eyebrows knowingly.

"Y-yeah," Adrien laughed nervously.

Luka gave Marinette a look, and she nodded.

He rolled to the side, and she smiled and attached herself to Adrien, and pushed him back a little so that she was on top of him.

"Your turn, hot stuff." she said with a sultry sigh that made them both shudder.

He went bright red.

"Unless you don't w-" Marinette cut off as he pulled her down to kiss her.

Luka shuffled close to them to steal a few kisses from Adrien's cheek, but he also had a secondary agenda.

"That was _supposed_ to be a _secret_ , kitten," Luka breathed, not loud enough that the presently distracted Marinette would pick up on it.

Adrien swallowed and went red.

"You get away with it, because she didn't pick it up," Luka whispered, nibbling at the tender spot below Adrien's ear. "But be a good boy and keep quiet till the time is right, okay?"

Adrien whimpered and nodded, and Luka kissed him and whispered an 'I love you'.

Marinette's hips wiggled, seeking more friction. Adrien hitched his good leg up between her thighs, and she rubbed against it and moaned into his mouth.

"Someone's enthusiastic." Luka smiled, nipping at Adrien's earlobe and enjoying the whimper it brought.

"You've been leaving me hanging over and over since Thursday," Marinette teased, grunting with the effort of grinding against Adrien. "Forgive me if I'm eager to remedy that."

Adrien whined and squeezed her close.

Luka hugged and kissed them both, and their little pile started to get more and more messy. Arms and legs stuck out and wrapped around and tangled up. The kisses got progressively sloppier.

Marinette fell off Adrien, owing to lost balance, and the boys moved to jointly ravish her from above.

She giggled, their attention tickling her neck and collarbone.

A pause came as Luka considered how to phrase the very important question he was pretty much desperate to ask, but as he opened his mouth, a loud sound came from Marinette's room.

An alarm.

The three of them groaned in frustration and disappointment.

"I gotta go to work." Marinette sighed, almost angrily, and tried to get up.

"Nooo!" Adrien complained. "Stay!"

"Call in sick," Luka begged, hugging her tight to his chest. "Please? Please?"

"I'm not taking the day off work so we can have sex." she laughed. "Let me go."

Luka pouted and made a protesting grumble.

"Luka." Marinette huffed and tapped his arm twice.

He let go immediately.

"I love you, too, but I have to go to work." she kissed him sweetly, and whispered. "I'm sorry."

Adrien, sulking beside them, received the same.

"I'll be back later, alright?"

The boys only made disappointed hums in reply.

She walked out, and Luka shoved his face into his pillow and growled.

Adrien pulled the bedsheet all the way over his head.

"Why'd you let her go?" he complained.

"She used her safeword." Luka replied, muffled. "You never ignore a safeword."

"Safeword?" Adrien frowned.

"The little…" Luka reached over and tapped Adrien's arm twice. "She does that when she needs out. I have to let go."

"Why's it called a safeword if it's an action?" his partner asked.

"Cause she uses it in the same w-" Luka looked up from the pillow. "Don't you know what a safeword is?"

Adrien shook his head slowly.

Luka wondered how to explain gently, but Marinette came running in again.

"Love you! Bye!" she kissed them both quickly again, and then dashed for the front door.

They heard her running down the hallway and down the stairs.

"She's wearing your shirt to work." Adrien blinked.

Luka went a little red.

"We're gonna pay her back for this when she gets home, right?" Adrien mumbled half-heartedly, frowning at his arousal.

"With our luck," Luka huffed, flipping over but not bothering to look at his own. "We won’t get the chance."

"Luka," Adrien rolled toward him. "Can you do me a favour?"

"Yeah, what?" Luka looked over, wondering if Adrien was about to invite him to get off together.

"Can you help me shave, please?" Adrien asked. "Nino isn’t here to help."

"Sure." Luka sighed.

And, once more, the boys had to carry on with their day unsatisfied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know what the funny thing is?
> 
> its not even over yet. the slow burn is still not resolved.
> 
> its more burny than slow by now but you catch my drift
> 
> anyways SEE YOU SOON XO

**Author's Note:**

> all aboard the Lukadrienette Train choo choo


End file.
